Chapter 7 - The Blackwood Trust
Elena’s patents were not the only fortune Serena targeted.
Victor controlled the Blackwood Family Trust, valued at nearly six hundred million dollars.
The trust funded hospitals, housing projects, and private investments.
It also held the mansion.
Its structure allowed one family head broad authority.
Serena expected to gain influence through marriage.
Victor now saw the danger of concentrating control in one person.
He amended the trust before trial.
The mansion and a portion of the assets moved into an independent child-safety foundation.
Employees gained an elected representative on the household board.
Medical decisions involving Ethan required two independent physicians.
No future spouse could obtain financial authority through marriage alone.
Rosa received legal protection for her husband.
Caroline’s record was cleared.
Lily received compensation, housing, and the option to leave employment permanently.
She chose to remain Ethan’s nanny during his recovery.
Not because Victor needed her.
Because Ethan did.
But the employment contract changed.
Defined hours.
Independent oversight.
No live-in requirement.
Full authority to report concerns.
Victor signed without negotiation.
Lily read every line.
“You expected me not to?”
“I expected you to.”
That was new.
The preliminary hearing became a national spectacle.
Serena entered wearing a white suit and no visible emotion.
Her attorney portrayed her as a misunderstood fiancée betrayed by jealous employees and a grieving widower.
Then prosecutors played the recorder.
The courtroom heard Ethan screaming.
Lily begging.
Serena threatening disappearance.
Then Elena:
What did you put in that?
The two crimes spoke across fourteen months.
Serena’s face remained controlled.
Until Adrian testified.
He admitted providing medication and helping manipulate Ethan’s medical records.
Beatrice testified next.
She confessed retrieving the vial and hiding financial evidence.
Caleb described disabling cameras.
One by one, Serena’s carefully separated witnesses compared stories.
Her power had depended on isolation.
May you like
The courtroom destroyed it.
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