Chapter 6 - THE RETURN OF THE NOTEBOOK
The family meeting was called for Sunday.
My mother’s house,
the house I now knew belonged mostly to me,
felt cold when I walked in.
Michael was standing by the fireplace,
looking at his phone.
Sarah was sitting on the sofa,
clutching the lockbox.
My mother sat in her chair,
looking older than I had ever seen her.
She wouldn't look at me.
"You're making a scene,
daughter,"
she said,
her voice trembling.
"I gave everyone their fair share."
"Fair?"
I asked,
standing in the middle of the room.
I didn't sit down this time.
"Was it fair when I spent my college savings to bury Dad?"
"I have the notebook right here,
Mom."
I pulled it out and laid it on the coffee table.
"Four thousand five hundred dollars for the funeral."
"Six hundred dollars for the hospital bills."
"Two hundred dollars for the flowers."
"I've calculated the interest,
too."
Michael scoffed.
"We're family,
we don't charge interest."
"We also don't steal from our sisters,"
I countered.
"But that's not why we're here,
is it?"
"You got a letter from Elias Thorne."
"You're wondering about the deed."
Michael stepped forward,
his face red.
"That deed is old news."
"Mom is the beneficiary."
"Actually,"
I said,
pulling a copy of the document from my bag.
"Grandmother's estate was very specific."
"The money used to buy this house was for Dad's bloodline."
"He put eighty percent of it in a trust for me."
"You and Sarah were already given your shares of the estate,"
"years ago."
"The loans for your business,
Michael."
"The money for your wedding,
Sarah."
"Dad kept a ledger in the red wardrobe."
"He recorded every cent."
"And he noted that those were your inheritances,
paid in advance."
Sarah stood up,
her eyes wide with rage.
"That's a lie!"
"He would never do that to us!"
"He did it because he knew you would take everything else,"
I said.
"He saw how you treated him at the end."
"He saw who was there and who wasn't."
My mother finally looked up.
"Stop it,"
she whispered.
"Please,
just stop."
"Did you know,
Mom?"
I asked,
my voice softening.
"Did you know he left this for me?"
She closed her eyes,
a single tear rolling down her cheek.
"He told me he wanted you to be safe,"
she said.
"But Michael needed the house..."
"And I needed you to understand."
"I understood,
May you like
Mom."
"I understood that I was the only one you weren't afraid to hurt."
