The Boy They Tried to Send Away
Chapter 10 - The Boy They Tried to Send Away
The DNA results arrived four days later.
99.98 percent probability of an aunt-nephew relationship.
Mason was Nora’s son.
Evelyn read the report twice.
Then she found him in the backyard trying to repair an old bicycle the housekeeper’s grandson had left years before.
“You’re officially stuck with me,” she said.
Mason looked up.
“Is that what the paper says?”
“Basically.”
He smiled.
Then his face became serious.
“Does that mean I’m rich?”
The question made Evelyn sit down on the stone step.
“Maybe.”
“I don’t want to be.”
“That’s not usually how inheritance works.”
“Mom said money makes adults act stupid.”
Evelyn looked toward the house.
“She had evidence.”
Mason wiped grease on his shirt.
“Can I give it away?”
“Some of it.”
“All?”
“When you’re older, you can decide many things.”
He frowned.
“Why can’t I decide now?”
“Because the law assumes ten-year-olds should not make decisions about forty million dollars.”
Mason dropped the wrench.
“Forty what?”
Evelyn winced.
She had planned to explain that better.
Before she could recover, a black sedan stopped outside the gate.
Grant stepped out.
Behind him was a woman Evelyn recognized from a prestigious boarding school in Connecticut.
Her anger rose instantly.
Grant had the nerve to smile.
“Evelyn.”
“No.”
“You haven’t heard why I’m here.”
“I don’t care.”
The woman beside him shifted uncomfortably.
Grant lowered his voice.
“Mason’s situation requires stability.”
“He has stability.”
“He has a pending custody review, intense media interest, and a family dispute that may last years.”
“Why is she here?”
Grant glanced at the woman.
“She represents a school with excellent residential care.”
Mason stood frozen beside the bicycle.
Evelyn saw it.
The moment he understood.
They were trying to send him away.
Grant kept talking.
“Full scholarship. Private security. Psychological support. No press access.”
“Leave.”
“Think rationally.”
“Leave.”
“Richard supports this.”
“I don’t care.”
“The trust can fund—”
Evelyn stepped toward him.
“Say the word trust one more time while standing in front of this child.”
Grant stopped.
Mason stared at the ground.
The school representative cleared her throat.
“I was told the family had requested information. I apologize if—”
“They didn’t.”
She left quickly.
Grant stayed.
“You’re making this personal.”
Evelyn laughed.
“He is my sister’s son. It is personal.”
“You barely know him.”
“I knew you for fifteen years.”
That hit him.
Good.
Grant’s face hardened.
“You should be very careful about turning me into an enemy.”
“You already did that yourself.”
Mason suddenly spoke.
“Did you go to my mom’s hospital?”
Grant looked at him.
Evelyn watched.
Grant’s entire body became still.
“No.”
“Did you send the man?”
“No.”
“Did you take her stuff?”
Grant’s eyes flicked toward Evelyn.
“That was a legal matter.”
Mason’s face reddened.
“She had a blue sweater.”
Grant said nothing.
“She wanted me to have it because it smelled like her.”
Evelyn felt tears sting her eyes.
Mason stepped forward.
“Where is it?”
For the first time, Grant looked ashamed.
Only for a second.
Then he recovered.
“Personal effects were stored.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“You signed for them.”
Grant looked at Evelyn sharply.
So he had not expected her to know.
The silence answered everything.
Mason picked up the wrench from the ground.
Evelyn thought he might throw it.
Instead, he set it carefully on the bicycle seat.
Then he looked at Grant.
“My mom said people show who they are when they think a kid can’t do anything back.”
Grant’s face went blank.
Mason turned and walked inside.
Evelyn watched him go.
Then she faced Grant.
“You frightened a dying woman.”
“No.”
“You intercepted letters.”
“That was Richard.”
“You forged my signature.”
“You cannot prove that.”
There it was.
Not denial.
A challenge.
Grant realized his mistake the same moment Evelyn did.
She smiled without warmth.
“Thank you.”
His eyes narrowed.
May you like
“For what?”
“For finally sounding guilty.”
