Chapter 3 - THE FAVORED COUSIN
My niece asked to see Thora.
Her father brought her.
Heloise was divorced.
That mattered.
The eight-year-old girl was not some miniature version of her mother.
She entered my sister Claire’s apartment—where Thora and I were staying temporarily—holding a paper grocery bag.
Inside:
Thora’s clothes.
Three books.
Her night-light.
And a clean stuffed rabbit.
“I washed it,” my niece said.
Thora hugged her.
No hesitation.
That told me more than adult testimony.
The girls sat on the floor.
My niece whispered:
“I’m sorry.”
Thora asked:
“For what?”
“Mom.”
Children can be heartbreakingly efficient.
Later, with both parents’ consent and a child counselor present, my niece explained what had happened at Wycliffe.
Heloise had begun changing rules shortly after I left.
First:
Thora ate separately.
Then:
Thora cleared plates.
Then:
She wore an apron.
Then the full maid uniform appeared.
“Where did it come from?” the counselor asked.
“My mom ordered it.”
“For Thora?”
“Yes.”
“Did your mom say why?”
“She said Thora needed to learn who really belongs.”
I closed my eyes.
The counselor continued.
“Did your mom treat you the same?”
“No.”
“What happened if you helped Thora?”
“She got mad.”
“Did you help?”
The girl nodded.
“I brought food.”
“What food?”
“Sandwiches. Cookies.”
“Did Thora ask?”
“Sometimes.”
Then the sleeping arrangement.
My niece said Thora normally slept in her bedroom for the first week.
Then Heloise moved her after Thora entered Grandpa’s study.
Why had Thora gone there?
“She was looking for Daddy’s number.”
I had changed phones during the trip after mine broke.
Heloise had my new number.
Thora apparently did not.
That explained why several video calls came only when Heloise initiated them.
My niece continued:
“Mom said Thora wasn’t family enough to use upstairs rooms if Uncle Aldric didn’t live there anymore.”
Again.
Residence.
Then something stranger.
My niece opened the grocery bag.
At the bottom was a folder.
“I took this from Mom’s desk.”
Her father immediately said:
“You should not have taken private papers.”
Correct.
But the paper existed now.
Naomi received it through counsel rather than us reading recklessly.
The first page:
WYCLIFFE RESIDENCE TRUST — DESCENDANT OCCUPANCY VERIFICATION.
Sections:
Primary household.
Resident minor descendants.
Custodial adult.
Sleeping quarters.
School transport address.
Domestic employee supervision.
My skin went cold.
Heloise had filled it out.
Under Thora:
Resident status — disputed.
Primary supervision — household domestic staff.
Sleeping quarters — service wing.
My niece had been marked:
Resident descendant.
Family quarters.
Primary supervision — Heloise.
No wonder she put Thora beside the kitchen.
She was fabricating the residence form through physical cruelty.
Could sleeping beside a kitchen legally erase lineage?
Obviously not.
But perhaps residence status affected something else.
Then I reached the last page.
A proposed estate transaction.
Buyer:
Ravencrest Development Partners.
Transaction:
Ninety-nine-year ground lease over 146 acres surrounding Wycliffe House.
Projected value:
$72 million.
May you like
And beside the signature line for temporary family steward:
Heloise had already signed.
