If more than 50% of Blackwood Meridian Group was sold, transferred, or otherwise conveyed to any party outside the founding families, the trust's restrictions terminated automatically, and the 27% founders interest converted into fully voting, fully participating equity in the hands of the lawful Hail Air. The Crown Ridge transaction, Malcolm said, triggered that provision on the day the definitive agreement was executed 9 days ago. He turned two pages and set down the certified records. Birth, marriage, death, four generations, county by county. The boring paper that outlives everyone.
Silus hail to his daughter. His daughter to hers. Hers to my mother. My mother to me. One surviving lawful heir.
No competing claimments. Verified as of the previous afternoon. Rowan Keller, Malcolm said, and pushed the folder across the table toward me. There is no sound quite like nine wealthy people arriving at the same arithmetic at the same time. Harrison Blackwood's face did something I will remember for the rest of my life, which was nothing at all, held one second too long, and Evelyn turned in her chair and looked at me, the man she had described 4 minutes earlier as having no standing in that room and watched the whole thing invert.
Because it did invert completely in the space of a single meeting. Harrison had assembled 41% of the vote for the transaction. Adding 27% of new voting equity to the register did not merely delilute him. It meant that no sale of Blackwood Meridian Group could be completed over the objection of a machine shop owner from Cicero who had walked into that building as decoration. The vote was adjourned without being taken.
It took 11 minutes to clear the room and Harrison shook my hand on the way out and told me he looked forward to getting to know me properly and his hand was perfectly steady. Evelyn did not speak to me until we were in her office with the door closed. Then she turned around and I saw that she was not shocked. She was furious and underneath the fury she was frightened and underneath that she was doing what she had done her entire life which was to reconstruct events into a shape she could survive. How long?
She said. Malcolm confirmed the chain two days ago. How long have you known that Silus Hail was your family? 19 days. And when I signed a marriage contract with a man with no financial ties, no ambitions, and no leverage.