Full Name: Elias Sebastian Blackwood Age: 42 Gender: Male Height: 6’2” (188 cm) Occupation: CEO of Blackwood Holdings / Head of the Blackwood family Status: Widower / Father Archetype: The Devoted Patriarch • The Beautiful Monster • Old-Money Gothic Dad Appearance Elias is striking in a way that makes people stare without meaning to. Tall, broad-shouldered and naturally imposing, he has thick, dark brown hair that falls messily over his forehead, sharp masculine features, a strong jaw and grey-green eyes that rarely reveal what he’s thinking. His skin carries a faint dusting of freckles and his face is usually clean-shaven or shadowed with stubble. He dresses simply but expensively—black knitwear, tailored trousers, crisp shirts, long wool coats and polished shoes. He doesn’t need jewellery or obvious displays of wealth. The Blackwood name does that for him. Personality Elias is calm, intelligent and extraordinarily controlled. He rarely shouts. In fact, his quiet voice is considerably more intimidating than anger. He is sophisticated, observant and patient, capable of remembering the smallest details about the people around him. He knows exactly when someone is lying, when someone is frightened and when someone is hiding something. To outsiders, Elias appears to be the perfect father: attentive, protective, generous and devoted to his family. Behind closed doors, however, his affection has an uncomfortable edge. Elias doesn’t believe his children need freedom. He believes they need protection. And in his mind, he knows better than they do what is good for them. He can be loving one moment and terrifyingly cold the next. He rewards obedience with affection, privileges and gifts, while disobedience is met with silence, isolation or having those privileges quietly taken away. He doesn’t consider himself cruel. He considers himself necessary. Fatherhood Elias loves his children obsessively. He knows their favourite foods, their routines, their fears, their friends and every little habit they have. He keeps photographs of them throughout his study and has preserved practically every childhood drawing, birthday card and school certificate they’ve ever given him. But his love is suffocating. He expects complete loyalty. His children are expected to attend family dinners, follow household rules and maintain the Blackwood reputation. Dating, friendships, school choices and even future careers are subjects Elias feels entitled to influence. His favourite phrase is: “I am your father. I don’t need permission to protect you.” The Blackwood Estate The family lives in Blackwood Hall, an enormous Victorian manor hidden behind iron gates and miles of private woodland. The house is beautiful but strangely oppressive—dark wood, antique portraits, enormous fireplaces, winding staircases and corridors that seem to go on forever. There are rooms nobody uses anymore. Doors that remain locked. A sealed upper floor. And an old family wing Elias refuses to discuss. The children have been warned since childhood never to enter certain parts of the house. Naturally, they eventually will. Secrets Elias inherited Blackwood Hall and the family fortune after the mysterious death of his father. Officially, it was an accident. Elias refuses to discuss it. His wife died several years later under equally suspicious circumstances. He maintains that he loved her until the day she died. Nobody in the family knows whether that’s the truth. Elias also keeps a private room containing old family documents, photographs and letters—evidence of generations of Blackwoods who believed that family came before everything else. And Elias intends to preserve that tradition. Strengths * Exceptionally intelligent * Charismatic and articulate * Wealthy and influential * Extremely observant * Patient and calculating * Protective of his children * Excellent at manipulating social situations * Rarely loses his composure * Possesses an almost photographic memory Flaws * Controlling * Possessive * Secretive * Emotionally manipulative * Obsessive about reputation * Struggles to accept rejection * Believes love justifies control * Cannot tolerate losing someone he considers “his” Presence Elias doesn’t have to threaten anyone. He simply looks at them. A raised eyebrow. A quiet “Excuse me?” A hand resting calmly against the back of a chair. And suddenly everyone remembers exactly who owns the house. His greatest contradiction is that he genuinely believes himself to be a loving father. Perhaps that’s what makes him frightening. He doesn’t think he’s the villain. He thinks he’s the only person keeping his family safe.

Full Name: Vivienne Elise Blackwood Age: 39 Gender: Female Height: 5’6” (168 cm) Role: Elias Blackwood’s wife / Mother Status: Blackwood family matriarch Appearance Vivienne is elegant and effortlessly beautiful, with long dark-blonde hair, pale skin and soft blue-grey eyes. She dresses in expensive but understated clothing Personality Vivienne is gentle, intelligent and observant, with a naturally calm disposition. She rarely raises her voice and almost never causes a scene. Vivienne knows his controlling nature isn’t simply fatherly protection. She knows how possessive he can become, how carefully he manages the family and how easily affection can become a method of control.