Matthew paused briefly before saying, "You already know that the South family's heirs have always been women, don't you?"
"Indeed."
"But the world is fair; intelligent couples might have less intelligent children. The competition for each generation's heir in the South family is always fierce. Besides choosing the heir, they also select the top ten candidates. The heir for the next generation is chosen from the children of these top ten individuals. In other words, only the children of the top ten have the qualifications to compete for the position of the next heir."
Keira was taken aback. "But my mother wasn't in the top ten of the previous generation, so I don't have the qualifications to compete..."
She and Isla would have been switched at birth. If her mother had been among the top ten competitors of the previous generation, Isla would also likely have become one of the candidates for the South family's current generation.
