Daniel smiled.
“Still a valid question.”
He was right.
My old estate plan placed ownership into trust.
Professional management.
Trevor eventually received a substantial beneficial share.
That plan had been written when he was twenty-three.
Before River Oaks.
Before fraud.
Before my face became something he believed he could use as an argument.
I changed it.
Not secretly.
Not as punishment disguised as planning.
Deliberately.
Cedarline would become employee-owned.
Not overnight.
We structured a gradual transfer of controlling interest into an employee ownership trust.
The people who built the roads.
Ran payroll.
Solved inspections.
Stayed late when concrete arrived wrong.
They would own the company.
I retained a minority economic interest for retirement and estate needs.
Trevor would inherit none of the operating company.
My remaining personal estate would be divided among charitable and family provisions based on future circumstances.
No automatic empire.
When word spread internally, Ana came into my office.
