Chapter 10 - THE DAUGHTERS FORM A SIDE
Erin, Madison, and Lily met without Susan.
Awkward.
Three women connected by money before trust.
Madison hated Lily immediately.
Not personally.
Existentially.
“If you’re Dad’s daughter, my share changes.”
Lily nodded.
“Yes.”
Madison frowned.
“You’re very calm about that.”
“I’ve had nine years to be poor.”
Erin almost laughed.
Madison did not.
Then Lily said:
“I’m not asking for half of anything. I’m asking for the five percent David set aside pending paternity.”
Reasonable.
Madison still looked defensive.
Erin turned to her.
“This is what Mom wants.”
“What?”
“For us to calculate what the other costs.”
Madison stared.
Then looked away.
They agreed on one thing.
DNA test.
No assumptions.
Lily provided a sample.
Because David was dead, testing required comparison with Erin and Madison.
Results:
Probability consistent with half-sibling relationship.
Extremely high.
Lily was their sister.
Madison cried.
Erin sat numb.
Lily just closed her eyes.
Then came the legal consequence.
David’s five-percent reserve should never have been erased without adjudication.
Susan had no authority to eliminate it.
Parker Legacy owed Lily an accounting.
That meant Meridian Grove’s collateral structure was compromised.
The lender could no longer claim clean title over the disputed reserve.
Rachel smiled for the first time in days.
“That gives us leverage.”
They proposed restructuring:
Sell Meridian Grove.
Pay senior lender.
Restore Madison’s education account from remaining family assets first.
Restore Lily’s five-percent reserve next.
Audit Erin’s historical account separately.
Susan would lose management control.
Independent trustee appointed.
Susan refused.
“This is my company.”
Erin stared.
“No. It was Dad’s structure for his daughters.”
Susan snapped:
“I kept it alive.”
Lily answered quietly:
“And used us as fuel.”
Susan looked at her like she had been slapped.
Then Madison did something no one expected.
She handed Susan the Lamborghini brochure.
The one she had carried since graduation.
“Keep it.”
Susan stared.
Madison continued:
“I don’t want anything that costs Erin her life.”
Erin’s throat tightened.
Then Susan whispered:
“You think she’ll take care of you now?”
Madison looked at Erin.
“No.”
Then back at Susan.
“I think I’m supposed to learn how.”
May you like
For the first time, Susan had no child standing behind her.
And that made her more dangerous than ever.
