Alle Kapitel von WICKED INHERITANCE: Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 5

The reading of Julian Blackwood’s will took place at 9:00 a.m. sharp, because Julian had always believed punctuality was a form of dominance.The drawing room at the Blackwood estate had been converted into a theater of restraint. Mahogany paneling gleamed under crystal chandeliers. Heavy drapes muted the California sun, turning morning into something more funereal. Chairs were arranged in careful rows, close enough to invite conflict, far enough apart to prevent outright violence.Ivy arrived five minutes early.She wore black again, but sharper this time, tailored wool, clean lines, no veil. Her hair was pulled back in a low, severe knot. Diamonds remained at her throat, though smaller than yesterday’s. Mourning, refined.She chose the chair at the center of the front row without asking permission.Ownership, even symbolic, mattered.Behind her, the room filled quickly. Julian’s relatives filtered in like carrion birds: cousins who had smiled too hard at the funeral, an aunt who had

The hunting party had been Ivy’s idea.Julian loved symbolism—rituals that made him feel primal and powerful—so she framed it that way. A night in the Sonoma vineyards. Antique shotguns. Good whiskey. Important men pretending they still knew how to survive without assistants and stock portfolios.He’d loved it immediately.“Like Hemingway,” Julian had said, already pouring himself a drink. “Only with better wine.”Ivy smiled and kissed his cheek, already planning the rest of the board.By sunset, the estate buzzed with curated masculinity. Twenty men in tailored jackets and expensive boots roamed the vineyard paths, laughing too loudly, guns slung over shoulders like props. The air smelled of crushed grapes and gun oil. Floodlights illuminated the rows just enough to feel dangerous.Julian was drunk by the time the first shot rang out—wild, celebratory, fired into the dark to mark the beginning of the hunt. Applause followed. Someone whooped.Ivy stood on the terrace and watched them