Tina:  So, where did she get the scholarship from?

Bette:  Good question. I then told her your hypothesis. Suppose Melvin found Mary and found out she had a daughter. Suppose he then created an entity with the sole purpose of providing her support. That entity targeted the school or schools Paris was in and presented some essay contest and of course Paris wins not by accident but on purpose. Mary and Paris receive the scholarship which is an opportunity which Mary could never provide. Mary may have checked out the entity which is a registered corporation with assets and a board of directors and ready to write the checks. So, Paris goes to boarding school in England at the age of 14 and never returns home except for visits. Melvin has fulfilled his obligation to support and educate his child, but he has also managed to separate Mary from Paris for many of her formative years.

Bette:  Then I added my editorial comment. If Melvin did this, he may have purposely wanted Paris to be educated out of the country to separate her from Mary a significant amount of time. That looks to me like revenge. Revenge for keeping his child from him? Revenge for leaving him? There are high quality boarding schools in the states which he could have chosen which would give Paris and Mary better access to each other. Or he could have left her in place and provided for her college education by the same process without sending her to a boarding school out of the country. But that is not what happened. So, Melvin knew about Mary and Paris. And Melvin decided not to tell me about Mary, thus guaranteeing that Mary was separated from both of her children. And in doing so, he never once considered the affect these actions would have on Paris or on me. I can only believe that this was pure revenge on Melvin’s part either purposely or subconsciously.

Tina:  Oh Bette, I am so sorry. Now I see why you looked sad when you came to the table. Melvin purposely kept you from your mother and it looks like he may have done that to Paris as well.

Bette:  Well, we only have a hypothesis. We have no evidence of this. We have the will and the timing of Paris going to England. I don’t believe Mary knew Melvin had knowledge of her whereabouts or that she was alive much less that he had another child. Paris will be talking to Mother and if any new revelation comes from that, then she will let me know.