Chapter 9 - Use Lily
Claire sat motionless.
“You deleted this.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought it was spam.”
“You thought an email using my daughter’s name was spam?”
“I thought it was intimidation.”
“From whom?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
She looked away.
That was the first time all night she refused eye contact.
“Claire.”
“I was already investigating.”
My anger rose.
“Without telling me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t know who around you was compromised.”
The answer sounded familiar.
It was the same logic I was using now.
“What did you find?”
She took her phone back and opened a folder.
Screenshots.
Access logs.
Copies of trust emails.
Corporate network records.
She had been collecting them for two weeks.
“Why two weeks?”
“Because Daniel asked me to prepare a board packet giving Grant temporary authority.”
“When?”
“The day after the fake medical event.”
“You knew it was fake.”
“I knew you had not collapsed.”
“And you said nothing to me.”
“I asked Daniel why the report existed.”
“What did he say?”
“That you wanted the episode documented privately because you were concerned about your health.”
“I never told him that.”
“I know that now.”
“You knew it then.”
“No.”
She looked furious.
“At first I thought maybe there was something you had not told me.”
“That is exactly what whoever planned this wanted.”
“I know.”
I walked toward the window.
Below us, the hospital parking lot looked almost peaceful.
Inside the room, my entire life had become evidence.
Claire continued.
“Then Grant called me.”
“When?”
“Ten days ago.”
“What did he want?”
“He asked why his name was on a succession memo he had never approved.”
I turned.
“So Grant knew.”
“He knew someone was preparing documents.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“He said he wanted proof first.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Apparently everyone around me investigates threats to my life without mentioning them.”
Claire’s voice softened.
“We all work for a man who hates incomplete information.”
I stared at her.
“That is not an excuse.”
“No.”
At least she did not argue.
I opened the deleted email.
The body contained only one line.
IF ETHAN RESISTS THE CAPACITY REVIEW, USE LILY’S DEPENDENCY STATUS.
“What does dependency status mean?”
Claire swallowed.
“Your family trust.”
“What about it?”
“Lily’s shares are held through you while she’s a minor.”
“I know.”
“If you are declared incapacitated, a temporary guardian may be appointed for trust administration.”
My blood ran cold.
“Who?”
“Normally whoever you nominated.”
“I nominated my sister, Rebecca.”
“Five years ago.”
“Yes.”
Claire hesitated.
“What?”
“Daniel filed an amendment last month.”
“I signed no amendment.”
“I know.”
“Who is named guardian?”
She opened another document.
The line appeared.
TEMPORARY FIDUCIARY GUARDIAN FOR LILY BLACKWOOD:
Nora Everett.
I stared at the name.
“No.”
“It gets worse.”
“How?”
“If Nora became Lily’s temporary fiduciary guardian while Grant held your voting proxy, together they could authorize a transfer of Lily’s trust voting rights.”
“Transfer to whom?”
Claire scrolled.
The receiving entity was hidden behind a corporate designation.
Blackwood Stewardship Foundation.
I knew the name.
My father had established it decades earlier, then dissolved its active operations before his death.
At least I thought he had.
“Who controls the foundation now?”
Claire shook her head.
“The current director isn’t listed in the public filing.”
I called Grant.
He answered.
“Do you know anything about the Blackwood Stewardship Foundation?”
Silence.
Then Grant said, “Where did you see that name?”
“Answer me.”
“It should be dormant.”
“It isn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Someone prepared papers transferring Lily’s voting rights into it.”
Grant swore quietly.
“Ethan, listen carefully.”
“What?”
“My brother created that foundation for one reason.”
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“To hold family shares if he ever believed the company had been compromised from inside.”
I felt the room narrow around me.
“Who could reactivate it?”
“Only three people.”
“Names.”
“Your father.”
“He’s dead.”
“You.”
“I didn’t.”
“And the foundation’s original legal custodian.”
I already knew the answer before Grant said it.
May you like
“Daniel Price.”
📖 Find out why Daniel controls the dormant foundation positioned to receive Lily’s shares—and what Grant reveals about Ethan’s father’s hidden emergency plan in CHAPTER 10. 👇
