Chapter 6: The Eighty-Six Thousand Dollar Secret
"Please, Aaliyah. Not here.""
My mother's voice sounded different now.
The woman who had slapped my hand away from my own cake, who had threatened to throw me out of the family, and who had confidently announced that Tessa deserved everything was suddenly asking me for privacy.
I looked at the document Margaret had placed on the table.
Eighty-six thousand dollars.
My grandmother's money.
My grandmother's bakery.
My grandmother's trust.
And somehow, my mother had managed to turn all three into something she believed belonged to her.
"Explain it," I said.
Gloria glanced around at the people watching us.
"Not in front of everyone.""
"You didn't seem concerned about an audience when you gave my cake to Tessa.""
Her face tightened.
"That was different.""
"How?""
"Because you were being selfish.""
I almost laughed.
Margaret stepped between us.
"Gloria, I suggest you stop making statements until you've reviewed the documents with your own attorney.""
My mother looked at her sharply.
"You're not my attorney anymore.""
"Correct. I represent the trust, not you.""
Tessa moved closer to Gloria.
"Mom, what money is she talking about?""
Gloria didn't answer.
Tessa looked at the document again.
"Is that the money you used for my business?""
My mother grabbed her arm.
"Not now.""
Tessa pulled away.
"No. I want to know.""
For the first time that morning, my sister wasn't smiling.
Margaret opened another folder.
"Four months before Evelyn's death, approximately eighty-six thousand dollars was transferred from the bakery's operating account into a newly established company account.""
She turned the page.
"The company was registered as Tessa Brooks Creative Ventures.""
Tessa shook her head.
"I didn't know where the money came from.""
Margaret looked at her.
"Did you receive the funds?""
"I thought Mom had invested her own money.""
"Did you sign the incorporation documents?""
"Yes, but Mom handled everything.""
I looked at my sister.
"How long have you known about this business?""
Tessa swallowed.
"About a year.""
"And what does it do?""
She hesitated.
"It's a dessert brand.""
I stared at her.
"You have a dessert brand?""
She nodded weakly.
My mother finally spoke.
"I was trying to give Tessa a head start.""
"With Grandma's money?""
"Your grandmother was going to leave the bakery to someone eventually. I simply used the funds to create another opportunity.""
Margaret shook her head.
"That isn't how a trust works.""
Gloria's voice rose.
"She was my mother!""
"And the money belonged to her business.""
"I was her daughter!""
"So was I," I whispered.
The words came out before I could stop them.
My mother looked at me.
For a moment, her expression softened.
Then she said something that destroyed whatever sympathy I had left.
"Your grandmother always favored you. I was simply trying to make things fair.""
I stared at her.
"Fair?""
She folded her arms.
"She gave you the bakery. She gave you the recipes. She gave you everything.""
"She gave me something she built. You took something she built.""
Gloria looked away.
Margaret closed the folder.
"We will be pursuing a formal accounting of the transferred funds. Depending on the findings, the trust may seek repayment.""
Tessa's eyes widened.
"Repayment? I don't have eighty-six thousand dollars.""
"Then we will need to examine the company's assets and transactions.""
My sister turned toward my mother.
"You told me that money was yours!""
Gloria snapped.
"Don't turn against me now.""
Tessa's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't ask you to steal anything!""
I looked at her.
"You didn't ask me before stealing my cake either.""
She looked down.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Daniel approached with two security officers.
"Mrs. Brooks, we need to address another matter.""
Gloria frowned.
"What now?""
Daniel gestured toward the exhibition hall.
"Your daughter Tessa has been disqualified from the competition pending the final authorship investigation.""
Tessa gasped.
"What?""
"Your entry was submitted using work created by another contestant. The committee has also reviewed the alleged collaboration agreement.""
"That was my mother's idea!""
Gloria turned sharply.
"Tessa!""
But my sister continued.
"She told me Aaliyah had agreed. She said Grandma wanted me to have the opportunity.""
I felt something twist inside my chest.
Tessa looked at me.
"I didn't know she was going to use your signature.""
"Did you know the cake was mine?""
She hesitated.
Then she nodded.
"Yes.""
"Did you know you were going to enter it under your name?""
Another pause.
"Yes.""
I nodded slowly.
"Then you knew enough.""
Tessa began crying.
"I just wanted one thing that was mine.""
I looked at her.
"You could have made something of your own.""
She shook her head.
"You don't understand. Everything comes easily to you.""
I almost laughed.
"Easily?""
I thought about the nights I had fallen asleep sitting on the kitchen floor.
The burns on my fingers.
The rejected job applications.
The weekends I had spent practicing instead of going out with friends.
The times I had eaten instant noodles because I needed money for ingredients.
"Nothing about this came easily.""
Tessa wiped her face.
"Mom always said you were the talented one.""
I stared at her.
There it was.
The explanation she had probably repeated to herself for years.
My mother had told Tessa she was special.
But she had also told her that I was the talented one.
And instead of encouraging my sister to develop her own abilities, she had taught her that my achievements were things she could claim.
"Mom made you feel entitled to what I earned," I said quietly.
"But you still made the choice.""
Tessa looked away.
The security officers escorted Gloria and Tessa toward the committee offices.
Before leaving, Gloria turned around.
"You're destroying this family!""
I held her gaze.
"No, Mom. I'm just refusing to keep pretending nothing happened.""
She disappeared into the hallway.
I stood beside Margaret, still holding Grandma's letter.
The competition continued around us.
Judges were tasting desserts.
Photographers were moving between stations.
People were laughing and congratulating one another.
But my entire world had changed.
Margaret touched my shoulder.
"There's something else you should know.""
I looked at her.
"What?""
"Your grandmother left a condition attached to the bakery trust.""
I frowned.
"What condition?""
Margaret opened her briefcase again.
"She wanted you to complete one final step before ownership could be transferred fully.""
"What step?""
"She wanted you to visit the old bakery.""
I blinked.
"Why?""
"She left something there.""
Margaret reached into her bag and removed a small brass key.
It was attached to a faded blue ribbon.
I recognized it immediately.
Grandma used to keep that key in the pocket of her floral apron.
"What does it open?""
Margaret smiled sadly.
"The basement office.""
I stared at the key.
"Grandma never let anyone go down there.""
"Exactly.""
She placed it in my palm.
"She said you would understand why when you found what she left.""
I closed my fingers around the cold metal.
Then Margaret added one final sentence.
"She also said that if your mother ever tried to take the bakery from you, you should look inside the old recipe cabinet.""
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
"What did Grandma find?""
May you like
Margaret looked toward the exit.
"Something your mother has been trying to hide for years.""
