Ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the pitch. The business plans are outlined and the siblings find out their ownership stakes. Apologies if this chapter comes across as hard to read. I kind of went all in on Lori's dialogue in this chapter as she goes full executive explaining everything (but that's what made it some much fun. I had a blast writing it). Hope everyone enjoys.

Also, I decided to change a few things around in the first chapter. Nothing drastic like their net worths, occupations, or anything that would directly impact the main story I have planned, instead a few insignificant things (for this story) pertaining to a few sisters that, in the grand scheme of things, wouldn't make too much of a difference. Sorry for the change, but after thinking through some things, I thought it would make more sense to change a couple things around.

Disclaimer: The Loud House and characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Edit: To answer one of the questions I got in the reviews, the reasons for Lana and Lucy not having pictures is that they're simply more private and not in the spotlight as much as their fellow siblings are.

"Thanks again for letting us use your place, Luna."

"No problem, dude. Do you still expect to meet up next week?"

"It all depends on how things go now. I have a feeling they're all going to be on board, but I can't make any promises at the moment."

"For now, I'll assume we are. If that changes, call me back."

"I will."

"Alright, I'll talk to you dudes later."

"Alright, Luna. Bye."

"See ya, sis."

Lori hung up and made her way to the study in Luna's Grosse Pointe residence. It was a really nice house, worth a solid $1.15 million dollars, which for Luna, actually wasn't that much in the grand scheme of things. Her ambitions as a rocker took off around the time she was ready to graduate high school. A decade of passion and hard work later, she was now an internationally known rocker who was the lead guitarist and vocalist of a band with fellow guitarist Sam and a couple friends from high school, a band that had multiple multiplatinum album sales and endorsement deals with several different companies. Her net worth was well within seven digits, easily making her the most successful Loud sibling at that point in time, with Luan coming in second and Lynn taking the bronze (just like her Olympic results).

For someone who had a career doing something that so many people associated with messiness, Luna sure kept her house clean. It was a four bed, six bath in one of the richer neighborhoods that were close to Detroit. Much of the house seemed to have been untouched by Luna (though there was a noticeable lack of dust), seeing as she only ever really used the kitchen, bathroom, main bedroom, living room, and one of the spare rooms she converted into a home studio.

The siblings were currently in the study, presumably used by Luna when she was looking to find inspiration for some new music by just binge-listening to a bunch of music and came in here for its rather calm atmosphere. Lisa brought with her some computerized glass that she arranged into a board big enough for everyone to see, which they would use to help plan everything.

"Okay. I just got off the phone with Luna and she said to not do anything she wouldn't do and that we're welcome to stay the night if we need to."

"She gave us permission to break her stuff?"

Lori wanted to respond to that seriously, but she couldn't tell if Lincoln actually meant it or if he was making a joke at Luna's tendency to break things in the heat of the moment, especially after an awesome performance. She decided to exercise her status as the oldest sibling in the room (even though three out of the four of them were adults) and simply said "No." The exchange did get a small laugh out of Lola.

"Lisa, is the board up and running yet?"

"For the last few minutes."

"Okay, guys. I've gathered you all here to run an idea past everyone. Lincoln, your shirt design was unbelievably successful. Do you have any idea why?"

"Because…people liked it?" He really didn't have a better answer for her.

"Well, duh. But I think there's more to it than that. What feedback did you get when you talked to some of the people who bought your shirt?"

"All they really said was that they liked the design. I'm honestly prepared to say that this was more of an accident than anything else."

"You never told me you made a shirt design."

"I made it a few weeks ago. Been selling it since."

"Sorry, Lola. We should've told you sooner. Yes, Lincoln made a design for a t-shirt and it ended up being a runaway success."

"How much of one?"

Lincoln answered "Enough to crash the site I was selling it on."

Her eyes went wide "And how much did you make off of it?"

"Total or the night of the crash?"

"Total."

He smacked his tongue against his lips and answered "Five hundred and forty-eight thousand and counting." Lola simply looked at him with her eyes wide, let in a slow, deep breath, turned her head slowly, and mouthed "Holy shit."

"Exactly, Lola. Lincoln, you can call it an accident all you want but a product doesn't sell well by accident. Consumers don't buy t-shirts when they meant to buy a lawnmower or some light bulbs. You created something big, something people looked at and decided it was worth buying."

"I took the liberty of pooling the ip addresses of everyone who visited the site and bought one of your shirts. After running some backgrounds on the owners of such addresses, I've come to the conclusion that most of the buyers were male and within the age range of 6-28."

Lori spoke again. "Lincoln, what do you think happened that could've gotten so many people to recognize your shirt?"

"Well, my coworkers said they wanted one after I showed them the one I got. I said 'okay', uploaded the design to the website and emailed them that it was up. From there, word simply spread."

"It got visibility is what you're saying."

"In a way, I guess I am."

"Lisa, did you happen to check the traffic for the rest of the site as a whole and see what the next most popular designs were?"

"I did. The hits came nowhere close to Lincoln's."

"Here's what I'm getting at, guys. It wasn't just that Lincoln created an awesome looking design for a t-shirt, it's that he was able to do that and make it seen. I think it's fair to say that we know at least a few people who own graphic t-shirts. My two kids both own at least a couple of them. However, it can be hard to find ones you like. Here's what I discovered when I went on to this website." She walked over to the board and pulled up a tab with the website on it. "It's cluttered. Yeah, it has variety, but each design gets lost in the shuffle. You don't really have time to take a quick look at what every page has. It's why these websites have never really exploded past a few million in revenue a year. Customers want convenience. They don't want to have to look through pages upon pages of designs that they don't care about to find one that they do. They want to get in and get out."

"So basically, what you're suggesting is a smaller marketplace for these shirts where it's easier to find a design you like."

Lori smirked. "You catch on fast, Lola. But it goes farther than that. What I have in mind is a small marketplace with quality to back it up. Your shirt wasn't only visible to others, it was also well-made. Not only do people not want to waste time looking for that one design they like more than all the rest, they don't want to waste their time on a marketplace that's full of absolute junk." Her point was illustrated by some incredibly stupid and weird designs shown. Why anyone would pay for shirts like that was beyond them.

"And that's what I'm thinking: a small, easy-to-navigate marketplace and a quality physical product. We wouldn't offer too many products, just enough that the end-user can get in, pick one or two shirts they like more than the rest, pay, and leave."

"And how can we guarantee that the end-users will actually like what they see?"

"Because I know you, Lincoln. I know that you never cheap out on any of your art. From the moment you found out you could draw, I haven't seen one picture from you that could qualify as lazy, mediocre, half-finished, or anything of that nature. You're carful, you're precise…and you draw the designs that people would love to wear on their clothes."

As much as Lincoln loved being talked up, he felt she was exaggerating a bit. It was just one shirt design. He essentially created a fad. There was no way hanging onto that same model would work in the long-haul. One of the major rules of business is that if you don't adapt to how the world is changing around you, then you are doomed to fail. Yes, there was a market, but how long would that market be there?

…Then again, he had little hope of the shirt actually succeeding to begin with, and now here he was, halfway to becoming a millionaire off of it without a full month passing by. Lori was right. There was a market out there that was willing to buy the shirts he designed, and the business she proposed sounded great. He knew all too well what it was like to visit a site like t-springs and be unable to find a single design that was worth buying more than all the rest, and the shirts on the site were never that attractive to begin with. This actually did have potential, a lot of potential if they played their cards right.

"Lincoln, you single-handedly proved that there can be a lot of success to be had here. This concept wouldn't even exist without you, and if we want this company to succeed, then we need you to be the one to lead the designing efforts."

Before he agreed, he needed to ask one thing. "What would my share of the company be?"

"I've come up with some numbers, but we can talk about what we actually think is fair. Lincoln, you and I will each take twenty percent total ownership, twenty for me for creating the concept and running the company and twenty for you for being the one that actually designs the products. Lisa and Lola, you'll each get fifteen percent. Lisa will be the CFO and in charge of monetary and server operations, and Lola will be Executive Vice President, working with me to help run and grow the company. The rest of the shares can be split with the rest of our sisters depending on the roles we decide to give them."

Lisa liked the offer. "I see these terms as reasonable and I, too, see the potential profitability in this endeavor. Not only would allow for a decent short-term chance at net gains, but it would also allow for us to expand into creating other sorts of novelties if we so desire."

"Alright, you two. This company won't happen unless the two of you say 'yes'."

It was obvious why these two needed to be there for the company to exist. Lincoln needed to be there because it was his picture design that took off. He drew what the people wanted, people bought it, and without his skills, this new company would go nowhere, and it wouldn't without Lola either.

While she was only a year into being an adult, her history showed great potential that could be unleashed on the business realm. Her time in middle school and high school was defined by her presence on both student councils, as well as on the board for her schools National Honors Society. From being a six-year-old that could barely read, with Lincoln's help, her academic success shot through the roof, as too did her leadership skills. She was extremely productive and always came through with good results. It's the very reason why people always wanted to partner with her for group projects and why she was elected president of the NHS. This was on top of her leading the school's dance troop.

All of this helped her to get accepted into a variety of different colleges, including a couple Ivy League ones. She would've loved to attend Columbia, but in typical Ivy League fashion, their selectiveness meant being even more selective at giving out financial aid, and Lola was still going to have to foot most of the bill for tuition costs, and her family didn't feel like taking out loans to pay for almost $200,000 to cover that. Deciding to keep things more cost effective on a fully paid tuition, Lola instead chose Butler University. No, she wasn't there when Jordan still was. Jordan graduated two years prior. She declared economics as her major while finding a spot on the Bulldog's dance team, her interest in studying economics stemming from her times with the different clubs in k-12 and the need for them to operate on a strict budget, as well as when she was occasionally put in charge of financials and structuring a sound plan for the future.

Neither Lola nor Lincoln were people whose academic skills could be sneered at. No, they weren't Lisa, the youngest person to ever graduate from Oxford and currently working at John Hopkins Hospital, one of the premier research hospitals in the world. People could laugh at Lincoln for majoring in Communication Design, but he was still at the top of his class, both in high school and college, easily graduating with honors. Lola only had one semester behind her, but she still made the Dean's List. It didn't matter that they weren't at Lisa's level. She would stick up for the two of them and their intelligence if someone ever tried to throw shade at them, and was also with Lori in that running the proposed company without these two would make the challenge that much greater. The needed Lincoln's design skills and they needed Lola for the executive support.

Both Lincoln and Lola looked at each other. "What do you think?"

"I think you lucked out with that design…but I have to agree with you two." She turned to face them. "While I'm not entirely sold on just t-shirt designs, I like what this company could become. My only request is that we have more of a product offering than shirts."

"I do, too. That's why I was thinking of also offering things like jackets and sweatshirts at launch, too."

"We shouldn't offer too many products at the beginning, dear sister. We either need to have a small offering at launch, or we'll need to do a partnership with another business."

"I actually like that idea. There are some great local apparel companies in different cities. If we partner with one of them to sell not just shirts, but a few other products like Lola said, we could probably make a few more bucks out of the gate and we would be spared having to spend extra money on buying things like printers."

"Lincoln has a point. We aren't exactly starting with a lot of capital or assets. We should take things slow and not assume too much risk right away for a product that Lincoln and I aren't sure of just yet."

All three of Lori's siblings made good points. There are many things that can lead to a startup failing, such as being overly ambitious, not being smart with financials, and taking on too much risk with an unproven product. Setting everything up is always the hardest part for a business because that is where all of the money goes at the beginning and it's what can lead to possible expansion in the future. Poor execution at this phase would mean that the company has little chance to recover, and while a few of their siblings had a decent amount of wealth, everyone highly doubted that any of them were willing to take on such risk.

Lincoln spoke up. "But to tell you what I think…I like it. Lola?"

"I do, too."

And with a smile, they both said in unison "We're in."

The siblings that were key to the business even getting off the ground were officially on board. Now they just needed to iron everything out with the rest of the sisters.

The meeting with the rest of the family wouldn't happen until the next weekend, so during the next week, the siblings who knew about the project were focusing on doing what they could in preparation for the company's creation (when they weren't preoccupied with things like work and school). Lincoln focused his efforts on designing new images that were in a similar vein to the original drawing he made. He managed to create two by the time the next weekend came around and he had to make the trip back out to Detroit from Chicago. He really wasn't too excited to be making the four and a half hour drive, as well as having to cancel on Jordan for two weekends in a row, but he didn't want to pony up two hundred (plus fees) in flight expenses and Jordan was fine with it when he explained why he was making the trips. Plus, he could always make those hours more bearable by just bringing up a playlist and listening to some music he liked. Heck, when there was a nice sunset during the drive, he could call it therapeutic.

The three sisters, meanwhile, were in constant communication with each other during the week, discussing things like corporate philosophies, the allocation of finances, different partnership opportunities and pitches, and most importantly, how the company will be funded. Because of the money Lincoln made from his first design, he was willing to give up to $150,000, but he wasn't about to give all of that money up right away. He would start by giving $10,000 immediately to be used for the necessary equipment to get the website up and running, as well as the site's infrastructure to be able to handle the prospective traffic numbers. The sisters were very appreciative of him for that. One of the things they knew they wanted to do immediately was take out as few loans as possible with the least amount of money. They didn't want to be settled with the burden of paying a lot of money off while, simultaneously, focused on keeping the company financially healthy, especially if the company was to experience slow growth and the lenders started calling in debts when they didn't have enough money to do it. For Lisa, what Lincoln offered was more than enough for her to work with, as she already had a plan of attack for the website, but even she couldn't predict how well the company would do simply because it is nearly impossible to predict what the public at large will deem good enough to buy. She didn't doubt Lincoln's skill, she doubted if the public would buy Lincoln's designs enough or if they would've moved on to something else. Fads exist because they become popular for a certain amount of time and then ultimately forgotten about. It was why Lola didn't want to just stick with selling a few graphic shirts and hope for the best.

So, while Lincoln's funding would be plenty to get the website going, the siblings still weren't averse to the risk involved with this, and with that came a thought. There was only one sister they felt had enough money to her name to make this as safe for everyone as possible: Luna. She already had millions to her name and wasn't the type of person to spend her wealth on five sports cars, three executive cars, a big mansion, and what was left on bribing groupies and models to sleep with her. Sure, the house she lived in cost a little over a million, but that was the most expensive purchase she ever made. Her car was just your average Accord, and while no one really knew too much about her love life, she seemed much more focused on her career as a musician than she did having sex. She seemed like she was being fairly smart with her money, and her fortune was only going to grow. That meant something important to the sisters: she could take on the most risk without it hurting her too much. They just needed to convince her to that.

During the week, everything could only be discussed for so much time each night. Again, work and school obligations, and for Lola, dance team was a thing, too. Because of this, the sisters agreed on a set timestamp each night to hold their talks about building the company, from eight to ten, with Lola being allowed to duck out in case she had a lot of homework. While she was doing good at not letting these business talks affect her studies, her mind was mainly focused on the company's potential. Lola had always wanted to make a name for herself and building a successful company could do just that for her. While going into business with her siblings had risk, as well as her not being too keen on the idea of running a business where product management was out of her control (nothing against Lincoln, but she liked having autonomy over what was being sold), she knew what the payoff could be, and it's what made the prospect so appealing.

The task of organizing the rest of the family together came together easier than expected. Some of the sisters were still living in the Detroit metropolitan, some even in Royal Woods still, such as Lana, Leni, and Lucy (she was attending college at the University of Detroit Mercy), while the others could easily make the weekend trip back home. However, it was made clear that this was not a family get-together. This was to discuss the potential idea the original four had (that's actually what they said to the sisters who didn't know).

When Friday came around, everyone either made the car ride or plane ride back to Detroit. They would have the rest of the night to themselves before they all met up again tomorrow to discuss what Lori and the others had in mind. At least they were blessed with a nice evening to travel on, and for Lincoln, that meant a nice, peaceful drive home filled with music.

In a tribute to the good old days, the siblings held their meeting in Lori and Leni's old room at everyone's childhood home, a home that most of the siblings rarely visited anymore because of branching out to other regions of the country and becoming full-time employees. Even holidays were no longer spent there since Luna bought her place the year prior, which became the new gathering spot for the family when everyone was in town. For everyone still in college, though, it still counted as home, even though Lucy and Lola lived in an off-campus apartment and dorm, respectively. Lily was still in high school, so she really didn't have much of a choice. While it was nice to see everyone again in their old home, Lori and Lola wanted this meeting to start as soon as possible, though Lola forgot about that for a bit when she saw Lana again and the two of them couldn't calm down at all at being reunited. The twin connection really was something special.

Lisa brought in the same computerized glass used in the last meeting, set it all up, and the meeting was underway. First, everyone found out that Lincoln made a successful t-shirt design, one that crashed an entire website, earning him praise from his sisters. Lynn was the one to ask the next big question. "So, how much have you made on it?"

"Last I checked, five hundred and fifty-three thousand." That shut everybody up. Many of the sisters were more successful in life than he was but none of them had ever been overnight sensations. Lincoln had experienced the most success in the quickest amount of time.

From there, Lori, Lola, and Lisa all explained the company's concept and core ideals, a clean and simple marketplace offering a few, quality designs to chose from. They had come up with the idea of selling things like dog collars and printed glasses as well so they didn't have to trust the whole company's future to shirts and jackets. The main selling point would be the designs, with efforts headed by Lincoln. Lori and Lola were the top two executives while Lisa acted as CFO and IT specialist. They would start out partnering with an already established printing organization to avoid the expenses of buying or building their own. The goal of the company was to sell enough of the original products to be able to expand with new and branching product ideas (Lola was dead set on growing the company to the point that they could establish a subsidiary specializing in luxury accessories and apparel). The three sisters and Lincoln seemed like they had crafted a well-thought out business model. Lucy did have a question, though.

"So, what would our roles be?"

"I was actually about to get to that. Leni, you're good with keeping up with trends, so we would task you with coming up with new product ideas and giving Lincoln any input on what people are buying nowadays. Luna, you have good coding skills, so we'll pair you up with Lisa to create and set up the website. Luan and Lucy, you'll be with Lincoln in coming up with new designs. No. Bad. Puns, Luan. Go with jokes that you know people would appreciate."

"First off, ouch. Second, I already have a line of merchandise I'm selling. Would it help if I moved all of that over to this website?"

"Not at the beginning. Remember, we're a completely new company. We shouldn't bite off any more than we can chew. A few designs to start, and the company's growth will dictate expansion." Luan nodded.

"Lynn, Lana, you two will be the outreach team. All we want you guys to do is get the company recognized through social media. Lynn can use her status as a former Olympic athlete to help while Lana can use her connections to Bobbie Fletcher…she is on social media, right?"

"Rarely, and I don't know how willing her sponsors would be at allowing her to promote us."

"Are any of her sponsors clothing or design companies?"

"No."

"Then it really shouldn't be a problem. If necessary, we'll send her a free shirt and tell her that all we want is a shout-out from her. Look, we need all the publicity we can get when the site officially launches, and with no advertising budget, our next best option is to use our statuses and connections to do that for us. Luna and Luan, you can help with this, too."

"Can we hold off on a full-scale advertising assault at the beginning? I won't know how many users the site will be able to handle until I actually set the network up, and we can't afford to have the site crash on us on the first day of operations."

"Lisa's right." Lincoln spoke up. "After the physical product, the website is the next thing people will judge us on, and we can't afford to have that go down on us. I think it actually would be better for the site to start out slow."

"I'm with them." Lola said. "People are fickle, after all." Despite being the one who wanted the company to grow the most, she knew that people actually had to trust the company first.

"Fair enough, but Lisa, I want you to keep me updated on the traffic numbers and tell me when we are good to increase our presence."

"Shouldn't be a problem."

"Good. Lily? While we would love to have you work with us, we think it's better for you to complete high school first."

"Oh, come on. Are you telling me I can't have any part in helping this company out?'

"You're a high schooler, and trust me when I say that while it may suck now, graduating high school is one of the absolute best things you can do for yourself and your future. Now with that said, high school boys were one of the major buyers of Lincoln's original shirt, so maybe you can do something to get them to notice the site's existence."

"That, I can do."

"Good. Now as far as ownership goes, Lincoln and I have agreed to own twenty percent each, Lincoln being the reason for the company's existence and me being the top executive. Lisa and Lola each get fifteen, Lola helping me with executive duties while Lisa's CFO and in charge of the website's network. As far as everyone else is concerned, we have two ideas on that. One is that everyone is given an ownership stake based on how much work they do. The other option is to split the shares up evenly six ways and give all of you five percent each. Lily, while we think you are too young, Lincoln and I have agreed to compensate you through our own ownership stakes. After you graduate high school, both of us are prepared to transfer some of our shares to you."

And that was it. Everything that the siblings needed to know about the company was told to them. All they had to do was say whether or not they liked what the first four came up with. Lori finally asked the biggest questions she may have ever asked. "Well guys, what do you think? Are you in?"

The sisters loved it. The plan was there, the product was there, and the people were there. It was going to be built on a sound strategy where the consumer would easily be able to find quality, even if it was just a graphic t-shirt or a novelty shot glass. It may have to start out small, but the potential for this company would be grand if they played their cards right, and with Lori, Lola, and Lisa managing everything while Lincoln delivered in making designs people wanted to buy, everyone knew this company was in good hands. It was official; the siblings would be starting a business together.

After that, it was time for another big question to be asked. On the board, Lisa showed the two options to everyone for how the shares would be split. "So, what'll it be, dear siblings? Merit-based ownership of shares or evenly dispersed among you?"

None of them could argue the share amounts that Lincoln, Lori, Lisa, and Lola took for themselves. After all, without the four of them, the rest of the siblings wouldn't know the first thing in running a successful business. Granted, Lincoln wasn't exactly a business-savvy person either (he dedicated some time over the week to learn about economic terms, and it was only then that he learned what the word 'equity' meant), but he, at least, was smart enough to know how to craft a desirable product and the he should surround himself with. He was smart and if he ever wanted to start a business on his own, he would still know the type of people to hire, what to look for, who to trust, and other important things.

With seventy percent of all shares off the table, the final thirty was set to be given based on merit or based on equal measure, and really, the sisters didn't need to think too hard about this. While merit-based share ownership sounded good on paper, the problem with asking them now, before the company was even officially founded, was that none of the sisters actually knew how much work they would put in. They would like to think they were going to do a lot to build the company up, but believing and doing are two very different things at the end of the day. They all agreed that it would be best to do an even split.

After the six sisters who were going to receive shares finished discussing, Luna was the one who said it. "We'll take the even split."

"Five percent for everyone, it is. Alright guys, for a few of you, just hang on while we get everything together and build the website. Lincoln, I want you to discuss with Lucy and Luan the ideas you have for designs. Leni, you can tag along with them and give any advice you think will help them."

"We talk in my old room" said Lincoln.

While most of the siblings filed out of the room (and the sound of Leni saying "Tag! You're it!" was heard), Luna was stopped. "Luna, we need to talk to you about something real fast."

"Okay." Lola closed the door after the other siblings left. "So, what do you dudes need?"

"Luna, you're still wealthy, right?" Lori asked.

"Yeah. Why? You girls in the financial gutter right now?"

"No, no. We're fine…Well, I am." Lori turned to the other two siblings in the room. "You guys are, too, right?"

"I'm good."

"Affirmative."

"No, the reason why we're asking is this. Despite believing we have a solid plan in place, we know that there's always a chance it could fail…and since you are rich, we were hoping-"

"That you would assume most of the risk should this venture fail." Lisa finished, Lori looking over to her and then back to Luna to say "Yeah, what she said."

The best way to describe Luna's reaction was that her attention was caught. She held the same facial expression as she did while Lori was trying to get to the point, but she slowly shifted her body. The three sisters had no idea how she was feeling but Lola, fearing that Luna felt disgusted by this, decided to explain to her what she would get in return.

"We know it doesn't sound attractive, but we're not asking for you to invest any money into the site if you don't want to. Lincoln has already provided us with a lot of money to help get the site going and we're hoping for more people to come in and invest as the company grows."

Lisa chimed in "We've already discussed this with Lincoln and he and Lori are willing to generously give up some of their ownership in the company, as well. You'll own thirty percent, the most out of any of us. In exchange, all we ask is that you-"

"You're asking me to foot the bill in case the biz goes under."

No point in lying. Lola simply responded "Yeah, pretty much."

Luna honestly wasn't sure how to react. How should she react? It wasn't everyday that someone came to her and asked if she was willing to hold her own wealth hostage. They didn't sound like they were doing it because they hated her, though, or because they wanted to avoid facing any repercussions if it did (well, Lola did, but it wasn't the primary reason she was asking). It was entirely because Luna was the most financially secure family member of the bunch.

Lori spoke. "Luna, we promise you won't lose too much money if it does go under, and like Lola said, we're going to shop around, looking for investors to come in and take the heat off of you. We promise that you will still be okay, no matter what happens."

Luna was beginning to feel insulted. First, her sisters wanted to exploit her wealth to make potential bankruptcy easier to stomach, and now, they were flat-out assuming that she cared a heck of a lot more about her fortune than she actually did. She drove an Accord. Not a 911, an Accord, a car known for solid reliability and no-hassle transport instead of ultra-luxury and speed for days. The only thing she did to the car was update the sound system. That was it. She was perfectly content with her fairly modest (by multi-millionaire standards) lifestyle because she didn't need everything to be incredibly luxurious.

"Dudes, why the hell would you think that I care so much about having so much dough to my name? Have you seen the car I drive?"

"What about your house, though?" That was a serious question from Lola.

"It was because I thought it would give us a nice place to hang when the fam's all in town…And I just really wanted a nice pad to live in. I have nothing against this old place, but…once you taste success, you don't want to give it up and go back to where you were."

She wasn't going to admit it, but she felt just that more uncomfortable returning to her childhood home. Sure, it was filled with absolutely wonderful memories, but once she actually started making money and could buy expensive stuff without the chance of ruining her bank account, she started to see how much her life kind of sucked in hindsight. She was part of a loving family that always supported her…but there was no way she wanted to go back to the days of rationing shampoo.

"Luna, you won't lose your wealth. At worst, it wouldn't be any worse than a trip to buy groceries in the grand scheme of things. We're only doing this because you have the capability to. We wouldn't ask if we seriously felt that your financial security would be put on the line. We just don't want to ruin ourselves."

She looked Lori right in the eyes. "If I do this…can you promise me that none of you will do anything stupid while leading the charge?"

The three of them responded in unison "We promise."

"Okay, then."

"Thank you, elder sibling" Lisa said, while Lori and Lola gave Luna simultaneous hugs. Luna was really hoping her sisters knew what they were doing. She trusted them, but there was this fear that their priorities would change once they actually started making money. One of the best decisions their parents made for her was requesting that she speak with a financial advisor when her first big contract was signed, and she credited that with helping her to be smart with her money. It was honestly scary hearing stories about famous people drive themselves into bankruptcy because they didn't know how to restrain themselves from making bad purchases. She didn't want the same thing to happen to her or her family.

…

…

Nowadays, she really doesn't have to worry too much, especially Lincoln, Lori, and Lola, all of whom have enough money to buy their own cruise ships, gut them, and have them redeveloped into their own personal, floating amusement parks.

Nothing ends a chapter quite like a financial flex. If I could, I'd have Starboy by The Weeknd playing after that last sentence. A nice little reminder of where they were to where they are.

Some of you may be surprised with what I did with Lola, but I think that girl has some serious potential in her future. Her authoritive status got a few gears turning in my head and her character was the product of the brainstorming. If you've ever seen the show Castle, she's kind of like Alexis if she had a greyer moral compass.

Finally, for everyone who noticed the contradictory change I made about her university choice from the first chapter (I say her alma mater is Columbia even though, in this chapter, she declined going to Columbia), that's intentional. If things aren't explained in the next chapter, they will in the one after.

Stay tuned for the next chapter when the siblings work to get everything set up.