Chapter 4 - THE COUSIN DIDN’T KNOW
Theo came to my house with Celeste two days later.
Not to discuss money.
To see Etta.
He carried a small puzzle.
“Hospital gift,” he said.
Etta looked at it.
“You already gave me crayons.”
“Crayons are boring.”
“You picked them.”
“I know.”
They argued.
Normal.
Good.
I took Celeste into the kitchen.
She brought a folder.
“I found the forms.”
I read slowly.
Private school reimbursement.
Summer science program.
Speech evaluation.
Tutoring.
Recipient child:
THEODORE KINCAID.
No Rowan.
Good.
Funding source:
Family Opportunity Allocation.
Not enough to know underlying account.
Then one rent reimbursement.
Recipient:
Celeste Kincaid.
Purpose:
Temporary housing supporting qualifying grandchild.
Again.
Could be legitimate if central reserve authorized.
“I signed these.”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t know which subtrust funded them.”
“Did Mom?”
“Probably.”
Then she handed me a bank deposit record.
Monthly transfers to her account.
Memo:
RK FAMILY SUPPORT.
RK.
Rowan Kincaid?
Or general Kincaid reserve?
Unknown.
“Did you ever ask?”
“No.”
There.
Same family disease.
Mother handles it.
We accept.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“If this was Rowan’s money.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I didn’t check.”
Different.
Not criminal.
Still responsibility.
Then Theo entered the kitchen.
“Mom?”
We stopped talking.
He looked between us.
“Is Grandma in trouble because of me?”
“No,” Celeste said immediately.
Good.
“Did I steal Etta’s bed?”
“No,” I said.
“Did I steal Rowan’s money?”
The question punched through me.
“Who told you that?”
“Kids hear.”
Adults had already failed.
Family relatives whispering.
Maybe his mother on phone.
Maybe hospital.
Didn’t matter.
I crouched.
“You did not steal anything.”
“But Grandma pays school.”
“Adults choose where money comes from. Kids do not have to audit it.”
He frowned.
“What’s audit?”
“Exactly.”
He looked relieved.
Then Etta shouted from the living room:
“The puzzle’s missing a piece!”
Theo shouted back:
“It’s in the box!”
Children returned to what mattered.
After they left, First Meridian released preliminary activity summaries.
No names yet beyond beneficiary status.
Rowan’s trust:
Opening balance at date of death approximately $1.73 million.
Current balance:
$1.09 million.
My hands went cold.
More than six hundred thousand gone.
Could all be fees and final obligations?
No.
Not over three years.
Naomi said:
“Do not call it stolen yet.”
“I know.”
Distributions after death:
$612,400.
Administration and investment fees:
$41,700.
Investment gains offset some losses.
The $612,400 went through a custodial disbursement account.
Account name:
RK Minor Support.
Authorized administrator:
redacted pending KYC release.
“What does RK stand for?”
“No assumption.”
But we both knew.
Then category summaries.
Education support.
Housing support.
Child development.
Medical.
Travel.
Family caregiver reimbursement.
For a dead child.
“What medical?”
“Unknown.”
“School?”
“Unknown.”
“Travel?”
“Unknown.”
Then one quarterly notation:
Beneficiary continues to reside within maternal family support network.
Impossible.
Rowan’s mother had died with him? Wait we haven't said mother's status. Could be ex-wife alive? We need avoid. Let's say Rowan and Etta's mother, Elise, alive? But no mention. Better maybe Cormac is widower? We can establish later. But "maternal family support network" creates other side. Avoid. Let's make "paternal family support network." Since Lenora.
The notation read:
Beneficiary continues to receive family-supported educational and developmental care.
Generic.
Someone filed.
Then Naomi received one page of the annual certification.
Beneficiary name:
Rowan Michael Kincaid.
Date of birth:
correct.
Status:
Active minor.
School:
Kincaid Preparatory Academy.
I stared.
Rowan never attended that school.
Theo did.
Celeste’s son attended Kincaid Prep.
My dead son’s record had been updated with my nephew’s school.
May you like
The two children were being blended on paper.
Not accidentally.
