Chapter 7 - THE PETITION
The court denied Serena immediate custody.
It did not dismiss the petition.
The allegations required review because Ethan had suffered real injuries and a sedative had entered his body inside Victor’s home.
Victor’s neglect was not invented simply because Serena committed abuse.
He traveled extensively.
He delegated childcare without verifying reports.
He signed household authorizations that gave Serena broad access.
The judge placed Ethan with Victor under twenty-four-hour professional supervision after hospital discharge.
Serena remained prohibited from contact.
I remained excluded from the home while my role was investigated.
The arrangement hurt.
It was also designed around Ethan rather than adult loyalty.
Serena held a press conference outside court.
She wore a dark suit and no visible jewelry.
“I love Ethan,” she said. “I intervened because his father’s employee was hurting him.”
She described the foyer report as an emergency effort to document danger.
Her attorneys released photographs of the tablets and bracelet found under my mattress.
They did not release the fingerprint uncertainty or Rebecca’s matching allegation.
I became the convenient face of the case.
Maria advised one brief statement.
I said:
“I did not injure Ethan, steal Amelia Blackwood’s bracelet, or possess Serena Montigue’s medication. I will cooperate with every investigation.”
No emotion.
No speculation.
The statement reached fewer viewers than Serena’s tears.
Victor’s company board placed him on temporary leave.
Blackwood Group operated hospitals, hotels, and medical technology companies. Public confidence mattered.
The board appointed his cousin? Better not secret. It appointed chief operating officer Margaret Ellis as interim CEO.
Victor objected privately but accepted.
His priority, he said, was Ethan.
Shareholders still panicked.
The stock fell.
Serena’s family investment firm purchased a large block through connected funds while the price dropped.
The transactions were legal on their face.
Maria noticed the timing.
“Guardianship and company control are moving together.”
That was the first clear connection.
Victor’s engagement agreement gave Serena no Blackwood shares.
Yet her family office had borrowed heavily to buy stock during the crisis she helped create.
Dr. Wells amended his records.
He claimed Serena never asked how many injuries were required for removal.
Nora’s testimony said otherwise.
His computer audit logs showed the third report created on his laptop while he attended a conference across town.
Remote access came from Serena’s phone.
Wells said she had template access.
He could still face licensing consequences for pre-signing documents and failing to verify facts.
His lawyer began negotiating.
Meanwhile, forensic analysts examined the forged guardian declaration.
The signature came from Victor’s engagement contract.
The document template came from Westbridge’s sealed amendment file.
Only four people had accessed that file before court production.
A Westbridge clerk.
Amelia’s former attorney.
Dr. Wells.
Serena.
The clerk said Serena obtained a copy months earlier by claiming she was Victor’s authorized fiancée.
The authorization letter carried Victor’s signature.
Another forgery.
When confronted, Serena denied submitting it.
Security footage showed Celeste? Not in this story. Her assistant, Claire DuPont, entering Westbridge with Serena’s identification.
Claire disappeared before police interviewed her.
Her phone last connected near Blackwood House.
Security searched the estate.
Inside an unused wine cellar, officers found Claire’s handbag, shoes, and coat.
No Claire.
On the floor lay a child’s medical alert bracelet engraved:
May you like
ETHAN BLACKWOOD — EMERGENCY GUARDIAN SERENA MONTIGUE.
It had been manufactured two weeks before the foyer incident.
