Chapter 6 - THE PRENUP
There had been a prenup.
Or rather, negotiations for one.
Serena complained constantly about it.
She said it made her feel like an employee.
I told her my late wife’s estate and Ethan’s inheritance required clarity.
That was true.
Caroline’s parents had also left assets for Ethan.
The Blackwood estate was not simply mine to redistribute emotionally.
Serena’s attorney had proposed revisions.
Most ordinary.
Then one clause stood out.
Residence rights.
If our marriage lasted five years, Serena would receive a lifetime right to occupy one Blackwood-owned property upon my death.
Again.
Not sinister.
Spouses need housing.
Then I noticed which property.
The Blackwood estate.
Ethan’s primary residence.
Rachel had objected.
The draft changed.
Serena objected to the change.
Email:
I will not spend my life raising Victor’s child only to be thrown out by trustees if he dies.
There it was.
Her fear.
Not pure greed.
Security.
Status.
A place in the family that could not be removed.
That helped explain why Lily threatened her.
Lily had emotional authority Serena could not contractually secure.
Ethan cried for Lily.
Reached for Lily.
Calmed for Lily.
Serena, preparing to become wife and stepmother, felt secondary in a house where she wanted permanence.
She began competing with a nanny for attachment to a toddler.
Pathetic?
Yes.
Human?
Also yes.
Then competition became control.
Control became harm.
May you like
Motive explained escalation.
It did not excuse it.
