He opened another folder.
That was when I learned Frank had changed his will four months earlier.
The house was not mine.
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
Mr. Delgado looked surprised.
“Sorry.”
I wiped my eyes.
“It’s just… 11 years.”
Brad and Stephanie had spent 11 years accusing me of marrying their father for a house I wasn’t even inheriting.
“What did he do with it?”
Mr. Delgado answered.
Frank had left the property equally to Brad, Stephanie, and me.
One-third each.
But there was a condition.
Nobody could force a sale for two years.
My smile disappeared.
“Why?”
“Because Frank wanted you to have time.”
“For what?”
Mr. Delgado handed me the final document.
An appraisal.
Then another piece of paper.
Frank had calculated what my mother’s 25% property interest would have been worth if the original agreement had been honored.
With appreciation, it was considerably more than one-third.
I stared at the number.
“Frank considered this your family’s unpaid share.”
“He owed my mother, not me.”
“Legally, the original agreement would be difficult to enforce after this much time.”
“I’m not asking legally.”
