He was also furious.
Not because Lily had been injured.
Children fell. Accidents happened.
He was furious because his daughter had looked at him with terror in her eyes and begged him not to let someone hurt her again.
He was furious because she had believed that telling the truth might cost her his love.
And he was furious with himself because he had been so eager to build a new family that he had failed to recognize the fear growing inside the old one.
Dr. Patel examined Lily gently.
When the examination was complete, he stepped into the hallway with Adrian.
"Physically, she appears stable," he said. "I recommend that we have her evaluated at the hospital to make sure there are no hidden injuries. The cut will need proper care, and we should document the bruising."
"Do you believe she fell?"
Dr. Patel paused.
"I'm a physician, Mr. Blackwood. My job is to examine injuries, not to determine who caused them. But I can tell you that the circumstances deserve careful attention."
Adrian nodded.
"Please document everything."
"I will."
After the doctor left, Adrian returned to Lily's room.
She was awake.
Her stuffed rabbit lay beneath her chin, and the silver heart charm rested on the bedside table.
"Daddy?"
He sat beside her.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Are you taking me to the hospital?"
"Just to make sure you're all right."
"Will you come with me?"
"Every step of the way."
She watched him carefully.
"Will Miss Victoria come too?"
Adrian felt the question settle between them.
"No," he said. "Not unless you want her to."
Lily shook her head.
"Okay."
He took her hand.
"Can I ask you something?"
She nodded.
"Has Victoria hurt you before today?"
Lily looked toward the window.
For several seconds, she did not answer.
Adrian waited.
He had spent years trying to solve problems quickly. In business, hesitation could be expensive. The person who recognized a problem first often controlled the outcome.
But this was not a negotiation.
This was a child trying to decide whether the truth was safe.
Finally, Lily whispered, "Sometimes."
Adrian closed his eyes.
"When?"
"When you're not home."
"What does she do?"
Lily's fingers tightened around his.
"She gets angry when I talk about Mommy. She takes my pictures away. Sometimes she grabs my arm."
Adrian's throat tightened.
"Has she ever told you not to tell me?"
Lily nodded.
"She says you have important work, and you don't want to hear about little things."
"Your feelings are not little things."
"But she says—"
"I know what she says. I'm asking what you feel."
Lily's eyes filled again.
"I feel scared."
Adrian bowed his head.
He wanted to promise that he would never allow anyone to frighten her again.
But he understood, with painful clarity, that promises meant very little when they were not supported by action.
So he made a different promise.
"I am going to listen to you from now on. And I am going to make sure you are safe."
Lily watched him.
"Even if Miss Victoria gets angry?"
"Even then."
"Even if she says you have to choose?"
Adrian looked directly into his daughter's eyes.
"I do not have to choose between loving you and being happy. You are my daughter. You are not standing in the way of my happiness."
Lily began to cry.
This time, Adrian knew the tears were not only fear.
Some of them were relief.
He gathered her into his arms.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."
She held him tightly.
For the first time in months, Lily began telling him everything.
Not in a neat sequence.
Not in a way that made the story easy to understand.
She spoke in fragments.
About the photograph.
About the bracelet.
About the times Victoria had told her that her mother would never come back.
About being sent to her room for crying.
About the way Victoria smiled when Adrian entered a room, then became cold the moment he left.
About a night when she had woken from a nightmare and gone to find her father, only to be told by Victoria that he was exhausted and did not want to be disturbed.
Adrian listened.
He did not interrupt.
He did not defend Victoria.
He did not explain that she might have been stressed or misunderstood.
He listened until Lily's voice grew tired and her eyes began to close.
When she finally fell asleep, he remained beside her.
He stared at the wall for a long time.
Then he took out his phone and called his head of security.
"Preserve every recording from the past six months," he said. "Do not delete anything. I want the footage from every common area, every entrance, and every hallway."
"Understood, sir."
"Also, I want a complete record of every visitor who has entered the house during that period."
"Yes, sir."
"And I want the security system checked immediately. If anything has been disabled or altered, I want to know who did it and when."
There was a brief silence.
"Is everything all right, Mr. Blackwood?"
Adrian looked at his daughter.
"No," he said. "It isn't."
***
Victoria spent the afternoon in the downstairs sitting room.
She had changed into another dress and repaired her makeup. The slender object she had carried in the hall was gone, and the room had been restored to perfect order.
If anyone had entered the mansion without knowing what had happened, they might have assumed it was an ordinary day.
Victoria intended to preserve that illusion.
She had already sent Adrian three messages.
The first expressed concern for Lily.
The second explained that the child had fallen.
The third reminded him that the engagement dinner was scheduled for seven and that several important guests were expected.
He had not replied.
That worried her more than she wanted to admit.
Adrian was not a man who ignored problems. He confronted them, evaluated them, and acted. When he remained silent, it usually meant that he was gathering information.
Victoria knew that.
She also knew the mansion was equipped with security cameras.
She had checked them months earlier.
The system covered the main entrance, the garages, and several outdoor areas. The cameras in the private rooms were limited, and she had been assured that no one monitored ordinary family activities.
She had assumed the great hall was one of the blind spots.
Now she was no longer certain.
At four thirty, her phone rang.
It was her mother.
"How is everything going?" her mother asked.
Victoria walked toward the window.
"Fine."
"That doesn't sound like fine."
"Adrian came home early."
"And?"
Victoria hesitated.
"There was an incident with Lily."
Her mother's voice sharpened.
"What kind of incident?"
"The child fell."
"Did she hurt herself?"
"A little."
"And Adrian believes you caused it?"
"He believes whatever the child tells him."
Her mother sighed.
"Victoria, I warned you that this would happen."
Victoria turned away from the window.
"You warned me about what?"
"That you were trying too hard to make that child love you. You cannot force affection."
"I am not trying to force affection."
"Then why are you so angry when she refuses to give it?"
Victoria said nothing.
Her mother continued.
"Adrian is marrying you. You already have what you wanted. You need to stop competing with a dead woman."
The words struck with more force than Victoria expected.
"I am not competing with Eleanor."
"Then stop acting as though she is still standing between you and your future."
Victoria ended the call.