Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 127: Third Part

Chapter 127: Third Part

"Next part?" Asked Aunt Ingrid, and in a rare moment of agreement, most of us had the same question.

"Yes, the will is divided into three parts, and so far, we’ve only discussed the first two parts."

Several people looked at each other, probably trying to guess what else needed to be discussed, only for the lawyer to proceed to read what was left of the will.

"It is my hope for the earlier arrangements to hold, but that may just be my wishful thinking." I squinted at that, and it wasn’t just me.

It wasn’t difficult to guess that his following words wouldn’t be good for everyone.

"Included in this will are provisions in the event that things happen as I expected."

"If by the time this will is read out, and my granddaughter or her parents have decided to leave the Thornhill clan, then the inheritance arrangements would be changed accordingly."

Aunt Ingrid bolted up from her seat, her eyes wide in indignation, but the old lawyer ignored it and continued reading the will.

The third part of Grandma’s will shocked everyone.

She overturned her original arrangement and took away the properties from everyone else, only to redistribute it to Aldrin, my parents, and me. But the actual power move was taking away the personal effects she was planning on giving them initially.

Grandma wanted those burned.

The options were for us to take them or for the lawyer to burn them.

She let the Chairman have the financial assets but took away her favorite properties, like this villa.

And to protect her revised will, she actually gave everyone else a dollar.

Chaos erupted.

In fact, it had been ongoing since the lawyer mentioned our detachment from the clan.

It’s just that he didn’t let them deter him from finishing. He just went on despite these so-called relatives’ indignant and outright brutish exclamations.

They kept on threatening to counter the will in court, saying that Grandma was probably insane and forgot that she had other relatives aside from these five people, including the Chairman, who was stripped of his other inheritance.

She offered a dollar for each one, listing their names and including their children, to show the courts that she remembered all of them but was only willing to part with this much.

That was all that they deserved.

My heart had been thundering the whole time, forget the screaming bouts of Aunt Ingrid. My brain was already swimming in thoughts to even mind her.

Grandma thought about the possibility of us leaving the clan.

But then the lawyer motioned for silence, and his tenure was now more evident than before.

The room fell eerily quiet, and he continued the last part.

"To my granddaughter, Eliana: You deserve better than a life dictated by other’s greed. Choose your family so that they can give you what this wretched clan couldn’t. And whenever you feel like doubting your choices, remember that Grandma loves you."

"And to everyone else who was complicit or who just stood by while a child was being mistreated, I’d say that you were just lucky I died early. May you forever carry my disappointment in you."

Wow.

I couldn’t help but suck in a breath.

It had been something that Grandma kept on apologizing for when she was sick. She felt like she hadn’t done a good job protecting me from what was obviously evil machinations to hurt a child.

She was too frail, and by this time, the Chairman attributed part of her failing health to Grandma’s concern over this non-existent mistreatment.

He probably thought I was feeding her such lies that had caused her to be this agitated while she was already sick.

It was a challenging feeling.

And my world momentarily collapsed the moment Grandma passed. What little validation I could get before suddenly disappeared. And I was left questioning the validity of my concerns.

Of course, my parents were there to back me up. But we weren’t as strong then. And that was just like having three victims band together against the entire class of bullies.

The lawyer was swift in detailing the claiming procedures and left as soon as his business was done.

Clearly experienced in the aftereffects of inheritance disputes, the lawyer swiftly finished announcing how to claim everyone’s inheritance before leaving.

Like him, we planned on leaving early, too.

But, it wouldn’t be as easy as him. These people tried blocking our way out, and Aunt Ingrid was about to cook up a storm as she stalked towards us.

She was planning on pulling my hair.

How did I know? Because I had a bob, someone would have to make considerable effort to grab onto my hair.

I actually wanted her to do it, hoping she’d start the physical altercation so that I could finally beat her to a pulp.

But I was sadly beaten to the punch.

It was Mom.

*Smack!*

My poised mother just went for Aunt Ingrid’s face. Collective gasps were heard as she slapped her with the anger of a parent who’s been itching to do this.

"How dare you?!" Aunt Ingrid’s eyes were like saucers as she held onto her about-to-be-swollen cheeks.

And Alexa came over to hold her mom, her eyes full of rage that was contrary to her usual image.

But it was all stuck there. She definitely wanted to cause a scene but couldn’t as more guards poured out of the waiting vehicles outside.

We were practically surrounded. And my husband was right in thinking we’d need this.

Though inwardly, I had been praying for a brawl. A battle royale would suffice. Because I was battle-ready and my heart had never felt this light.

It was one thing to hear comforting words but another to see these people cursed like that.

Even the Chairman looked like he had aged decades in one go. The way he looked at us changed after that reading.

At one point, I actually considered talking to him, but then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a person who wasn’t supposed to be there.

It was Nicholas.

Again.

And all I could do was laugh at how stupid I was for momentarily thinking these people could change.

So much for being a family-only thing.

No wonder these people were so excited for today.

They probably thought it was just a will reading, and they’d get an inheritance while managing to trap me in with that guy.

"Please do us a service and try that again. I still don’t feel reconciled after years of tolerating your attempts at my young daughter. I would love to return the favor, so I encourage you to come at us again." My mom had her mega-watt smile that turned wry the moment she looked around to look at the spectators.

Don’t treat my mom’s poised lifestyle as if she were a weak chicken. She just enjoys the duality of being a delinquent while looking like a saint. That’s why my Dad loves her.

She’s the craziest in the family, so God bless these people.

I don’t even know how my mother could withstand years of abuse, knowing that she was capable of physically taking them on.

All for our plans.