THE TOWERS FAMILY SAGA
        EPISODE 13
The "New Family Rule" of
radical honesty was one
thing in a diner, but it
was another thing entirely
in the real world. Virginia
stood in her new, smaller
apartment, looking at a
stack of boxes. James was
on the sofa, staring at
a spreadsheet on his
laptop. "The numbers don't
work, Ginny," he said,
not looking up. "Without
your father's signature
on the lease guarantee,
the security deposit took
half our savings. We're
living on the edge before
we've even started."
Virginia sat beside him,
her resolve flickering but
not fading. "Then we live
on the edge, James. It’s
better than living in
a cage made of gold."
James finally looked at
her, his expression
unreadable.
"I hope you're right.
Because I start at
Turquoise Software on
Monday, and your father
made it very clear: if I
fail, he won't be the one
to catch me." At the
garage, Tyler was showing
Barbara how to change the
oil on an old sedan. Her
hands were stained black,
but she was laughing, a
sound that had been rare
in the Towers mansion.
"You're a natural, B,"
Tyler said, handing her
a wrench. "You actually
listen to how the machine
works. Most people just
want to turn the key and
forget about the rest."
Barbara wiped her forehead,
leaving a streak of grease.
"I'm tired of forgetting
about the rest, Tyler. I
want to know how everything
works, including us." Back
at the estate, the silence
was becoming a permanent
resident. Robert and Minnie
sat at the long dining
table, four chairs empty
between them. "We did
what they asked," Robert
said, his voice echoing
slightly. "We gave them
the truth. We gave them
their freedom." Minnie
looked at the empty seats,
her heart heavy with a
different kind of truth.
"Freedom is just another
word for being alone,
Robert. If we don't find
a way to be a family
without the money, we
haven't freed them, we've
just lost them." The
first week of the "Towers
Rebellion" was coming to
a close, and the radical
honesty was starting to
feel a lot like a
reckoning.

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