Chapter 7 - A New Dawn
Six months later, the Hollister mansion was officially put on the market.
Eleanor had tried to fight the trustees, hiring expensive lawyers to contest Arthur's will. But Mr. Vance was prepared. He had a mountain of evidence, including the testimony of the family court officials who had finally come forward to admit that Eleanor had used her influence to delay my paperwork.
Faced with public exposure and a losing battle, Eleanor quietly moved out of the mansion and into a luxury apartment in the city, funded by her own personal savings. She refused to speak to Michael or Robert, but the family’s toxic grip on our lives had finally been broken.
With the mansion sold for a staggering sum, the Arthur and Emily Hollister Foundation was officially born.
Our townhouse became the temporary headquarters. The dining room table was covered with colorful pamphlets, legal guides, and application forms. Michael retired from his stressful corporate job to manage the foundation full-time, his face looking younger and happier with each passing day.
I was twelve now, and for the first time, I felt like I belonged to something bigger than myself. I helped Michael organize the folders, stamp the envelopes, and pack care packages for children entering new foster homes.
One afternoon, while we were working, a package arrived in the mail.
It was a heavy, flat box.
Michael opened it, and we both gasped.
Inside was a beautiful, professionally framed photograph. It was the photo taken on that fateful Christmas Eve—but it wasn't the one Eleanor had wanted.
It was a photo of me and Michael.
My cousin Daniel had taken it with his own phone while Michael was holding my hand in the living room, right before we walked out. He had sent it to a professional lab, had the background cleaned up, and framed it for us.
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At the bottom of the frame, a small silver plaque was engraved:
The Real Family.
