CHAPTER 2

As Emily and Isabella meticulously plan their escape, a knock on the door one evening introduces an unexpected visitor: a private investigator named Mark. Mark reveals that he has been hired to find Isabella, but not by Lucas. He was contracted by a wealthy woman named Evelyn Blackwood, who claims to be Isabella’s biological mother. According to Mark, Evelyn has been searching for Isabella for years, desperate to reunite with the daughter she was forced to give up under mysterious circumstances. Isabella is stunned by this revelation, as she had always believed her parents had died in an accident. Intrigued yet skeptical, she agrees to meet with Evelyn, with Emily accompanying her for support. During their meeting, Evelyn recounts her tragic past, explaining that she was coerced into giving Isabella up by her controlling father to protect the family’s reputation. She also hints at a dark secret involving Lucas, suggesting he might be more intricately connected to their lives than they ever imagined.

As they dug deeper, Emily and Isabella uncovered that Lucas's obsession with control and power might have deeper roots linked to the Blackwood family. Evelyn confided that she had once been involved with a powerful syndicate, and Lucas’s family might have ties to the same underworld, possibly explaining his violent tendencies and manipulative behavior. While grappling with this new information, Emily and Isabella also learned that Evelyn’s reappearance wasn’t solely out of maternal love; she had her agenda. Evelyn needed Isabella’s help to access a hidden inheritance left by her father, which required Isabella’s consent and cooperation. This inheritance could provide the financial means for their escape, but it also bound them to Evelyn's dangerous world.

Meanwhile, Lucas became increasingly suspicious of Emily and Isabella’s activities. His paranoia led him to hire his investigator, bringing another layer of danger and urgency to their situation. As Emily and Isabella navigated these treacherous waters, they had to decide whom they could trust and how to leverage the tangled web of secrets and power plays to secure their freedom and protect Alex. As tensions escalated and the stakes grew higher, Emily and Isabella’s journey was fraught with peril, deception, and the constant threat of discovery, leaving them to question every alliance and uncover the true extent of the forces working against them.

As Emily and Isabella delved further into Lucas's connection with the Blackwood family, they uncovered a deeply intertwined and sinister relationship that spanned generations. Lucas's mother, Clarissa, was once Evelyn Blackwood's best friend. They grew up together in the shadow of Evelyn’s powerful father, who controlled a vast criminal syndicate. Clarissa’s family was also involved in the underworld, but they were often subordinate to the Blackwoods. Lucas and Evelyn were childhood acquaintances, their paths often crossing due to their families’ shared criminal enterprises. However, when Evelyn’s father orchestrated Isabella's adoption, Clarissa saw an opportunity to elevate her family's status by aligning more closely with the Blackwoods.

After the death of Evelyn’s father, a power vacuum emerged within the syndicate. Clarissa and other syndicate members saw this as a chance to claim a greater share of power. However, Evelyn’s inheritance posed a threat to their ambitions, as it included control over key syndicate assets. Clarissa manipulated Lucas into pursuing and marrying Emily, knowing that the union could be leveraged to gain access to the Blackwood legacy. She planted the idea that controlling Emily and their child, Alex could provide leverage over Evelyn and Isabella, thus securing their position within the syndicate. Initially, Lucas genuinely cared for Emily, but under his mother’s influence, he became increasingly controlling and violent. His behavior was fueled by the pressure to fulfill his family’s ambitions and secure their dominance within the syndicate. Lucas's awareness of his mother's schemes and the Blackwood legacy drove his obsessive need for control. He believed that by keeping Emily and Alex under his thumb, he could manipulate Evelyn and Isabella into relinquishing their claim to the inheritance.