I was floored.
Linda had anticipated Amanda and Becca’s behavior and planned accordingly. It was like a final chess move, calculated and precise. The lawyer confirmed the charity would receive the money instead.
A part of me wanted to laugh at the irony.
Linda, who had spent years marginalizing me, had ultimately chosen to protect me in the most unexpected way possible.
Amanda called me that evening, and she was so furious. “You think you’ve won? You’re disgusting!
You stole everything from us!”
I stayed calm, years of being overlooked had taught me emotional resilience. “I didn’t steal anything, Amanda. Maybe you should think about why Linda made the decisions she did.”
She hung up on me without saying much.
But I could feel her fury.
That night, David and I sat on the porch of the vacation home. The lake was calm, the sky painted with soft hues of pink and orange. Memories of fishing with my dad danced across the water’s surface, bringing a bittersweet smile to my lips.
“Do you feel guilty?” David asked, breaking the silence.
I thought about it, watching a lone bird glide across the darkening sky.
“Not really. But I feel… sad. She waited too long to try and make things right.
If she’d just talked to me while she was alive, maybe things could’ve been different.”
David nodded, understanding etched in the gentle pressure of his arm around my shoulders. “She didn’t know how to fix things, so she did what she could in the end. It’s not perfect, but it’s something.”
The lake seemed to whisper in agreement, its gentle waves a subtle reminder that healing isn’t always straightforward.
Amanda and Becca have gone no-contact, and honestly, it’s a relief.
The vacation home is ours now, and David and I are planning to move here next year with our kids. The house feels less like an inheritance and more like a homecoming.
Linda may not have been the mother I wanted, but her final act was both an apology and a gift… a chance to reclaim a piece of my history.
And that, at least, is something.
Source: amomama
