Chapter 2 - The Rules Nobody ExplainedThat night, the birthday cake remained half-eaten in the refrigerator.
Rebecca found Maisie at the kitchen island drinking water.
The girl had changed into pajamas.
Her eyes were still slightly red.
“Can’t sleep?” Rebecca asked.
Maisie shook her head.
Rebecca sat beside her.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Maisie asked:
“Did I do something bad?”
Rebecca’s face fell.
“No.”
“Then why didn’t I get anything?”
Rebecca looked toward the doorway.
Daniel was supposed to be upstairs.
Gloria had gone to her private suite.
They were alone.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Grandma said Colin is different.”
Rebecca felt her chest tighten.
“What did you hear?”
Maisie looked down.
“She said Grandpa Arthur’s name.”
Rebecca closed her eyes.
So Maisie had heard more than they thought.
“Grandma has some old-fashioned ideas.”
“What does old-fashioned mean?”
“It means she believes some things that I don’t agree with.”
“Like boys get presents and girls don’t?”
Rebecca struggled.
“No.”
“But that happened.”
“Yes.”
The simple answer hurt.
Maisie asked, “Why didn’t you stop her?”
Rebecca had no good response.
Because Gloria had paid Daniel’s company debts.
Because the mansion belonged to a family property trust Gloria controlled.
Because Daniel had spent years trying to earn his mother’s approval.
Because Rebecca had convinced herself that avoiding conflict protected the children.
None of those explanations sounded acceptable when a seven-year-old asked why her mother had remained silent.
“I should have,” Rebecca whispered.
Maisie looked at her.
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
Rebecca reached for her hand.
“I’m sorry.”
Maisie let her hold it.
But she did not smile.
The next morning, Daniel entered the kitchen while the twins ate breakfast.
He looked exhausted.
“Morning.”
Colin looked up.
“Can Maisie have a present today?”
Daniel stopped.
Maisie stared at her cereal.
Colin continued.
“She didn’t get one yesterday.”
Daniel glanced at Rebecca.
“I know.”
“Why?”
Children could make complicated failures sound painfully simple.
Daniel sat down.
“Grandma bought the racing system.”
Colin frowned.
“So?”
“She wanted it to be something special for you.”
“Why not Maisie?”
Daniel rubbed his jaw.
“Your grandmother has certain beliefs about family traditions.”
Colin looked toward Maisie.
“We’re twins.”
“I know.”
“We have the same birthday.”
“I know.”
“Then it’s stupid.”
Rebecca almost smiled.
Daniel didn’t.
“Colin.”
“What?”
“You shouldn’t talk about Grandma that way.”
Maisie looked up.
It was the first thing Daniel had firmly defended since the birthday.
Not her.
Gloria.
She pushed her cereal away.
“I’m done.”
As she slid from the stool, the mail arrived through the front entry.
Melanie, the housekeeper, placed a stack on the side counter.
Two identical envelopes sat on top.
One addressed to COLIN WHITMORE.
The other to MAISIE WHITMORE.
Rebecca noticed immediately.
Both came from Whitmore Family Trust Services.
She picked up Maisie’s envelope.
It had already been opened.
Rebecca frowned.
“Who opened this?”
Melanie looked confused.
“I didn’t.”
Daniel glanced over.
“What is it?”
Rebecca pulled out a statement.
It listed an educational account held for Maisie under the Whitmore Family Legacy Trust.
Current balance:
$38,400.
Rebecca froze.
She opened Colin’s envelope.
His balance:
$196,800.
“That can’t be right.”
Daniel stood.
“What?”
Rebecca held out the pages.
“Their accounts.”
Daniel read them.
His face changed.
“What the hell?”
Maisie watched from several feet away.
She didn’t understand the numbers.
But she understood her parents’ expressions.
Rebecca flipped through the statements.
Both accounts had once received identical annual contributions from their late grandfather Arthur’s trust.
Then, three years earlier, Maisie’s contributions changed.
Several distributions had been redirected.
Colin’s had not.
Rebecca pointed at one line.
“What is ‘legacy reallocation’?”
Daniel went pale.
She looked at him.
“You know.”
“No.”
“You recognize it.”
Daniel said nothing.
Rebecca stepped closer.
“Daniel.”
He lowered his voice.
“Not in front of the kids.”
That answer was enough.
Rebecca turned toward Maisie and Colin.
“Go upstairs for a minute.”
Maisie didn’t move.
“Is Grandma taking my money?”
Daniel’s eyes shut briefly.
Rebecca stared at him.
“Answer her.”
Daniel looked at his daughter.
“No one is stealing from you.”
Maisie pointed toward the statements.
“Then why does Colin have more?”
Daniel could not answer.
Gloria appeared in the doorway.
She took one look at the papers and understood.
“You had no right to open those.”
Rebecca stared at her.
“They’re my children.”
Gloria’s expression hardened.
“And those accounts are under my administration.”
Rebecca held up Maisie’s statement.
“Why is her balance almost one hundred sixty thousand dollars lower than Colin’s?”
Gloria did not hesitate.
“Because Colin’s future responsibilities will be greater.”
The room went silent.
Maisie looked at her twin.
Then at Gloria.
“Because he’s a boy?”
Gloria’s face remained calm.
“Because he is the future of this family.”
Rebecca felt something inside her finally break.
May you like
And Daniel looked down because the signature authorizing the first reallocation three years earlier—
was his.
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