Humbling.
Ana became chief administrative officer.
A project executive named Caleb Monroe took over operations.
My controller, Priya Shah, became CFO.
People I had spent years calling “promising” turned out to be fully capable adults once I stopped hovering.
One afternoon Daniel asked:
“What happens to Cedarline when you die?”
I stared.
“Martin asked me that once.”
“Yes.”
“Worked out badly for him.”
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.
