The office of attorney Silas Thorne was on the second floor of an old brick building downtown. My mother sat to the lawyer’s left, already wearing my grandmother’s pearl earrings before a single line had been read.
“If you get a single cent, I will destroy you,” Miranda whispered to me while digging her nails into my skin. The lawyer began to read the original will which left the house and all savings to Miranda Sterling.
The jewelry, furniture, and books were also left to my mother with the right to distribute them as she saw fit. Miranda looked at me with the serene satisfaction of someone who wanted to see me lose everything.
“See? My mother knew who was truly with her at the end,” she whispered. She stood up and began to speak of her own sacrifices and the daughter’s love she claimed to have shown.
“Jade did not even visit her once in three months, and my mother died wondering why she was abandoned,” she said with venomous cruelty. I felt the floor move because she had built a wall between us and was now using that wall as proof I didn’t care.
For a moment I thought I hadn’t fought hard enough, but then I noticed the lawyer had not closed the file. Beneath the first stack of papers was a second folder held together with a bright red clip.
“Is there anything else?” my mother asked with a small, nervous laugh. Attorney Thorne took the second set of documents and placed them in front of him with a calm expression.
“Yes, there is an amendment signed three days before Pearl’s death and an irrevocable trust,” he announced. The word “trust” fell on the table like a stone and my mother suddenly sat up straight.
“The trust designates Jade Elena Sterling as the sole beneficiary of all savings and the property,” the lawyer read. My middle name was Elena, which was my grandmother’s name, and I felt a sharp blow of emotion in my chest.
Miranda’s chair scraped against the floor as she shouted that it was impossible because her mother was sedated. “The signature was witnessed by a certified nurse and validated by a mobile notary,” the lawyer clarified.
He turned toward the door and the parking lot nurse walked in to sit next to him. “Pearl knew perfectly well what she was signing and she asked me to tell the truth if necessary,” the nurse said firmly.
Part 3
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