Chapter 16 - The New Foundation
By the summer of 2027, three years after the night Maisie was rescued from the flooded bedroom, Evelyn had established the Thomas & Maisie Calloway Foundation for Endangered Children.
Using a modest residual trust fund recovered from legitimate family assets untouched by the fraud investigation, the foundation provided emergency housing, legal representation, and psychological trauma care for abused toddlers across the American Southwest.
Maisie was six years old now, thriving in a local private elementary school where she loved art class, soccer, and playing the piano.
On a warm Saturday afternoon, Evelyn and Maisie sat together on a wooden bench in Hermann Park, watching ducks glide across the glassy surface of the reflection pond.
Maisie wore a bright yellow summer dress, her brown hair tied back with a matching silk ribbon, laughing brightly as she fed crackers to the ducks.
“Grandma?” Maisie asked, looking up with her big, expressive eyes.
“Can we bake chocolate chip cookies when we get home?”
Evelyn smiled, wrapping her arms around her granddaughter and pulling her close against her chest.
May you like
“We can bake as many cookies as you want, sweetheart,” Evelyn promised softly, looking out at the bright Texas sun shining over the Houston skyline.
“Our kitchen doors are always wide open... and they will never, ever have a lock on the outside.”
