"I heard you have been busy," Frances said with a hint of suspicion. "It pleases me to know you have grown an interest in the stock market, but I hope you are not messing with your brother's company."
His mother stared at him as if studying his reaction. She was probably checking if she could catch him in a lie. But he was no child. He was not afraid of her anymore.
"What if I am?" Dale answered without blinking. But honestly, he did not care if his mother knew what he had been doing and planning. But "...hypothetically?" it was not yet time to reveal his secrets.
He could not help but play with his mother for once. All his young life, he had cowed down to her, obeying her rules and letting her opinion reign over him.
But not today. Not anymore.
This time, he was only playing by his rules. He would not let his family step all over him. He was taking what was his, not the charity they kept shoving on his face.
