Berta had been my grandmother’s constant companion. “The only one who never wants anything from me,” she used to say. In our family, that was practically a confession.
My grandmother built her life from scratch. She paid for educations, offered guidance, opened doors—but she never handed over cash. “Money given too easily takes your spine with it,” she’d say. Her children called that cruelty. She called it dignity.
As the years passed, visits slowed. Phone calls stopped. But now, suddenly, everyone was present. Suddenly grieving.
Back at the house, silence hung thick with expectation. No one waited for comfort. They waited for the lawyer.
Aunt Florence broke the quiet first, flashing me a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Meredith, remind me—what do you do again?”
“I’m a nurse.”
Uncle Jack laughed. “That’s it? Tom runs a dealership. Alice owns salons. You could’ve done more.”
“I help people,” I replied. “That’s enough for me.”
My mother scoffed. “Unbelievable.”
We barely spoke these days. That suited us both.
When the lawyer arrived, he stayed standing.
“I’ll keep this short,” he said. “There is no inheritance to distribute.”
The room erupted.
My uncle accused him of incompetence. My aunt demanded another copy of the will. My mother turned pale with fury.
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