Chapter 4 - THE UNCLE’S VISIT
By noon, the atmosphere in the Blackwood mansion turned sour and heavy.
A sleek silver sedan pulled up to the main driveway, and an elderly man with silver hair, sharp blue eyes, and a tailored gray suit stepped out.
Thomas Blackwood—Victor's uncle—walked through the front doors like he already owned the place.
Emma was downstairs in the grand library, organizing Victor's medical records, when Mrs. Dalton escorted Thomas into the room.
"Ah," Thomas said, his voice smooth like oiled silk as his icy eyes swept over Emma. "The new caregiver. You've lasted twenty-four hours. That's a new record for my poor, unfortunate nephew."
Emma stood up straight, placing the file folder on the desk. "Good afternoon, sir. Mr. Blackwood is resting upstairs."
"Resting," Thomas scoffed gently, walking toward the grand fireplace and examining an antique sword hanging above the mantle. "That's all he does these days, isn't it? Such a tragedy. Victor was once the pride of the Blackwood family. Now he's just... a shadow."
"He is a strong man, sir," Emma said firmly, her voice steady and resolute. "He is recovering."
Thomas turned around slowly, his blue eyes narrowing at her. "Recovering? The doctors said his spine was severed, my dear. He will never walk again. He will never run this company again."
Thomas walked closer to Emma, stopping just two feet away. He pulled a thick paper envelope from his coat pocket and tossed it onto the desk between them.
"You seem like a sensible young woman," Thomas said softly. "Inside that envelope is fifty thousand dollars. All I ask is that you keep me informed about Victor's daily routine. Who visits him. What medication he takes. What he talks about."
Emma looked down at the envelope, her heart beating fast. The traitor wasn't just a rumor—he was standing right in front of her, trying to buy her loyalty.
"I am hired to take care of Mr. Blackwood's health, sir," Emma replied coolly, pushing the envelope back toward him. "Not to sell his privacy."
Thomas’s polite demeanor instantly evaporated, replaced by a cold, menacing glare.
"Be very careful, girl," Thomas whispered dangerously. "People who stay too loyal to broken men tend to break themselves."
"Is there a problem here, Uncle?"
A deep, commanding voice echoed from the library doorway.
Thomas spun around.
Victor sat in his wheelchair at the entrance of the library, his lap covered in a dark wool blanket, his face completely emotionless.
"Victor!" Thomas forced a warm, fake smile onto his face, walking over and patting Victor's shoulder with fake affection. "I was just checking on your new nurse. Making sure she was treating you well."
Victor looked down at his uncle's hand on his shoulder, then up into Thomas’s eyes.
"Emma treats me exceptionally well, Uncle," Victor said, his voice dripping with hidden venom. "Much better than the people who recommended my previous caregivers."
Thomas's hand twitched slightly on Victor's shoulder before he pulled it away. "Well... I must be off. Board meeting at two. Get your rest, Victor."
Thomas turned and walked out of the library, his heavy footsteps echoing down the marble hall.
Once the front doors slammed shut, Victor turned his chair toward Emma.
"He offered you money, didn't he?" Victor asked gently.
"Fifty thousand," Emma admitted, walking over to him. "To spy on you."
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Victor looked up at her, a profound look of respect and warmth filling his eyes. "And you turned it down."
"Of course I did," Emma said, kneeling beside his chair so she was at eye level with him. "I already made a deal with the king."
