Who Owns Blackwood
Chapter 16 - Who Owns Blackwood
The civil court ruled that the Sterling Foundation violated the original management agreement.
Control of Blackwood Conservatory reverted to the Blackwood Artists Trust.
Ruth became its legal successor.
Every newspaper called her the new owner.
She rejected the title.
“No musician should own a school the way Vivian did.”
Ruth proposed a shared governance model: faculty, students, technical staff, alumni, and independent artists would elect representatives. Major donors could fund programs but would receive no authority over admissions, repertoire, or disciplinary panels.
Several wealthy patrons withdrew.
Thousands of small donors replaced them.
Malcolm Pierce resigned as president but remained long enough to complete the transition. He publicly acknowledged his silence in Margaret’s death investigation and established a legal fund for young witnesses facing institutional retaliation.
Lena Ortiz became director of accountability and archives.
Owen Pike lost his professional licenses.
Sophie Lane returned to the competition.
She asked Ruth to coach her.
“I am not a performance teacher anymore.”
“You knew the piano was wrong after one chord.”
“That makes me a tuner.”
“It makes you annoying enough to be useful.”
Ruth agreed.
Andrew moved into a rehabilitation apartment near Ruth’s home. They did not pretend three decades could be crossed by romance alone. They attended therapy, argued about medication, and learned each other’s breakfast habits as strangers carrying shared memories.
Daniel visited every Sunday.
Some days they spoke about music.
Some days they did not.
The Mercer Concerto’s copyright was restored to Ruth. Royalties from thirty-one years of recordings and performances were placed into a restitution fund for artists whose work had been misattributed or suppressed.
Ruth could have removed Thomas Sterling’s name entirely.
She chose a different credit:
Composed by Ruth Mercer.
Orchestration assistance by Thomas Sterling.
Historical attribution corrected by court order.
Daniel asked why she included Thomas.
“Because truth is not improved by reversing the theft.”
The centennial grand was restored in Blackwood’s workshop.
Technicians removed the blue wax, replaced the damaged pedal, and preserved the hidden compartment behind glass.
The black rubber block remained in the archive.
May you like
Not because it was important as an object.
Because small objects often revealed large crimes when someone bothered to look beneath the instrument.
