The Founder Who Refused to Die
Chapter 08 - The Founder Who Refused to Die
Charles Blackwood was found at a private lodge near the Canadian border.
He sat beside a fireplace watching news coverage of Beatrice’s arrest.
Age had thinned him, but his voice remained commanding.
“You brought police to family property,” he told Adrian.
“You stole from children.”
“I moved funds to protect the company during unstable years.”
“You invented children to receive donations.”
Charles called it temporary accounting.
Adrian placed Emma’s notebook on the table.
“Was forcing her to clean floors temporary too?”
Charles looked at the photograph inside the locket.
“Beatrice exceeded instructions.”
“Your instructions brought Emma into that house.”
Charles admitted he ordered Beatrice to find the child after Lillian escaped. Emma’s identity controlled a hidden block of foundation shares created by Lillian.
At age ten, those shares transferred into the Blackwood Children’s Fund unless Emma activated them with the archive key.
Her tenth birthday had passed two weeks earlier.
The shares were now dormant but recoverable.
Charles needed the brass key and Emma’s signature to transfer them.
Beatrice failed to find the key.
“So you kept your granddaughter as unpaid labor while searching her room,” Adrian said.
Charles corrected him.
“Your niece.”
The distance in his voice said everything.
He offered Adrian a deal: protect the family company, withdraw the investigation, and Charles would reveal Lillian’s location.
Adrian did not negotiate.
Police arrested Charles.
As officers led him away, he smiled.
May you like
“Lillian will never trust you. She saw what you chose the first time.”
Adrian knew that part was true.
