“Michael, you’re grown now. We should be together as a family. Your parents will take care of you and everything he left behind.”
The phrase, “Everything he left behind,” sent a shiver through me.
I looked at my father.
He avoided my gaze, but I saw the tension in his face.
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice cold.
My mother smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.
“You know your grandfather was wealthy. The farm, the company shares, everything. We need to talk to arrange things.”
My heart pounded as I pushed her hand away.
He hadn’t been gone a day, and they were already here like vultures circling prey.
“I don’t have anything to talk about or arrange with you,” I said, turning away.
But she grabbed my arm, pulling me back, her voice sharpening.
“Don’t be foolish, Michael. You need your parents. You can’t manage that money alone.”
I yanked my arm free, staring them down.
“9 years. You disappeared for 9 years. Not a letter, not a call. Now, what do you want? Grandpa’s money.”
My father finally spoke, his voice low but menacing.
“Watch your tone, Michael. We’re still your parents.”
I let out a dry laugh, feeling a fire ignite in my chest.
“Parents? You abandoned me when I was nine. Don’t act like nothing happened. And don’t think I’m just some clueless kid.”
I walked away without looking back, but my heart was in turmoil.
They stayed in town, renting a room at a nearby inn.
In the days that followed, they called, texted, even showed up at the farm.
Each time I saw them, I remembered his words.
They were blinded by greed.
I knew they hadn’t come back for me.
They wanted his wealth, something I hadn’t even begun to consider.
But I was also scared.
I was just an 18-year-old kid.
How could I stand up to them?
Phân cảnh 8: Reading the will
A week after the funeral, I was summoned to a lawyer’s office in Bosezeman.
Ms. Karen Walker, my grandfather’s attorney, greeted me in a glasswalled room overlooking the Gallatin River.
She was about 50, her hair neatly tied back, her eyes sharp yet kind.
“Michael,” she said, handing me a glass of water. “Are you ready?”
I nodded, though my heart pounded.
My parents were there too, sitting across from me, their faces composed, but exchanging glances as if anticipating something.
Ms. Walker opened a folder and began reading the will.
Her voice was steady, but each sentence hit me like a hammer.
My grandfather had left me everything.
The farm, shares in a tech company worth over $50 million, and other investments, over $120 million in total.
I sat there stunned, unable to believe it.
I’d never imagined he was that wealthy.