Chapter 3: The Truth About the Trust Fund
The next few weeks were a blur of new clothes, fancy dinners, and a penthouse apartment in downtown Portland that had floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean. Arthur Hale had moved into the apartment with Lila, hiring a team of chefs, cleaners, and tutors to take care of her. She’d never had a bedroom with a private bathroom, never had a closet full of designer dresses and sneakers, never had someone to ask to help her with her math homework. She still felt a little scared, like she was dreaming, but every time she looked at the diary, she remembered that it was real, that she was Arthur Hale’s granddaughter, that she was finally home.
But not everyone was happy about the news. Ethan Hale, Arthur’s grandson, had shown up at the penthouse two days after Lila and Arthur had met, his face red with anger. He’d been expecting to inherit the Hale empire, and he’d spent years planning his future as the next CEO of Hale Industries. “This is a joke,” he’d yelled, slamming his fist against the marble countertop. “She’s just a foster kid. She has no right to any of this.”
Arthur Hale had stared at him, his face cold and hard, and Lila had felt a chill run down her spine. “You were always too busy partying and spending my money to pay attention to your mom,” he’d said. “Clara worked hard to build her own charity, to help kids who were in foster care, just like Lila. You don’t deserve to inherit anything.”
Ethan had stormed out of the penthouse, slamming the door behind him, and Lila had hidden in her bedroom, crying. She’d always known that being a billionaire’s heir would come with drama, but she hadn’t expected it to be this bad. She’d thought that finally, after 10 years of being alone, she’d have a family, but now she was scared that Ethan would do something to hurt her, to take everything away from her.
Then, three days later, Ms. Harlow showed up at the penthouse, her face pale and nervous. She’d brought a stack of papers with her, and she handed them to Arthur Hale, her hands shaking. “I’m sorry,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I thought Lila was lying, and I was scared of getting in trouble. I took the $50,000 trust fund that was supposed to be for her, the one Clara set up before she died. I used it to pay for my daughter’s college tuition.”
Lila’s blood ran cold. She’d known that her mom had left her a trust fund, but she’d never thought anyone would steal it. She’d spent her whole life wondering why she never had enough money, why she had to wear hand-me-down clothes and eat free lunch at school, and now she knew: Ms. Harlow had taken it.
Arthur Hale opened the stack of papers, his face growing more angry with every page. “You stole from a 10-year-old foster kid,” he said, his voice sharp and cold. “You tossed her diary on the floor like it was garbage, and you called her a liar. You had no right to take her money.”
Ms. Harlow started to cry, begging Arthur Hale to forgive her, to give her another chance. But Arthur Hale didn’t say anything. He just called one of his bodyguards, who walked into the room and led Ms. Harlow out. Lila watched them go, her heart pounding in her chest. She’d spent so long being the kid who was always being blamed for things she didn’t do, and now she was the one who was getting justice.
That night, Arthur Hale sat down with Lila at the kitchen table, and he handed her a check for $100,000, twice the amount Ms. Harlow had stolen. “This is for you,” he said. “You can use it to go to college, to start your own charity, to do whatever you want. I want you to have the chance to live the life Clara always wanted for you.”
May you like
Lila stared at the check, her eyes filling with tears. She’d never had that much money in her life, but she knew exactly what she wanted to do with it. “I want to start a charity for foster kids,” she said. “Just like Clara did. I want to help kids who are alone, who don’t have anyone to believe in them.”
Arthur Hale smiled, and he hugged her tight. “That’s exactly what your mom would have wanted,” he said. “I’m so proud of you, Lila.
