Chapter 18 - THE TRIAL OF VIVIAN BLACKWOOD -
Vivian’s trial began six months later.
Gabriel had grown strong enough to leave the hospital after five weeks.
Elena continued physical therapy and counseling.
We never returned to Blackwood Manor.
We rented a house near the coast where sunlight entered every room.
At the courthouse, Vivian appeared in a gray suit.
She looked smaller than I remembered.
Her attorneys argued that Dr. Mercer had acted alone.
They claimed Lucas fabricated his testimony to receive a lighter sentence.
They described Arthur’s recording as an argument taken out of context.
Then the prosecution played the final minutes.
The jury heard Mercer say that she had used too much medication.
They heard her order him to fix it.
They heard my father struggling to breathe.
Vivian showed no emotion.
Rosa testified next.
She described seeing my mother crush pills into Arthur’s tea.
She described years of threats.
She described being forced into the company SUV after calling me.
Elena testified for nearly three hours.
She spoke about the isolation.
She explained how Vivian controlled her phone, food, medical care, and communication with me.
She described the basin.
The prosecutor displayed Lucas’s complete video.
My mother finally looked away.
When it was my turn, I told the jury about the missing money and forged approvals.
Then the prosecutor asked one final question.
“Mr. Blackwood, why did you leave the estate without confronting the defendant?”
I looked toward Elena.
“Because my wife needed safety more than my mother needed an argument.”
Vivian’s attorney stood for cross-examination.
He attempted to portray me as an angry son seeking revenge.
“Do you hate your mother?”
The courtroom became quiet.
I considered the question.
“No.”
He appeared surprised.
“You do not?”
“Hate would require me to continue carrying her inside my life.”
I looked directly at Vivian.
“I am finished carrying her.”
The jury deliberated for eleven hours.
Vivian was convicted on every major count.
She received life imprisonment for my father’s murder, along with additional sentences for the financial crimes and offenses against Elena.
Dr. Mercer received eighteen years.
Calvin Royce received six.
The nurse accepted a plea deal.
Lucas received twelve years after cooperating with prosecutors.
Before deputies took him away, he approached me.
“I’m sorry.”
“I believe you are.”
“Will you ever forgive me?”
“I don’t know.”
He nodded.
“Can you tell Gabriel I wasn’t always like this?”
“No.”
Pain crossed his face.
I continued.
“One day, you can tell him yourself.”
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For the first time, my brother understood that redemption was not something I could hand him.
He would have to earn it.
