The Second Will Chapter 09
Robert stood up abruptly.
“Impossible!”
He walked up to the lawyer.
“After my dad had a stroke, how could he possibly handle a property transfer? He couldn’t even speak clearly!”
The lawyer took a document out of his briefcase.
“The notarization certificate.”
He placed the document on the table.
“Issued by the City Notary Office on June 17, 2022. Mr. William Harrison was present in person, and the notary confirmed he was of sound mind and signed voluntarily.”
Robert snatched the document.
He flipped through it once.
And flipped through it again.
The document bore my father’s signature.
Crooked, but it was indeed his handwriting.
There was also the steel seal of the notary office.
My sister-in-law leaned over to look.
“Five… five point two million?”
Her voice was trembling.
“Two commercial properties are worth five point two million?”
She turned to me.
“Did you – did you trick Dad into signing this when he was confused?!”
“The notary office has a full video recording.”
The lawyer said.
My sister-in-law shut her mouth.
Robert slammed the document onto the table.
“Even if the commercial properties were given to him – the house is still mine!”
He looked at the lawyer, as if trying to bolster his own courage.
“The house belongs to me, it’s written in the will, signed and all!”
The lawyer pushed up his glasses again.
“Yes.”
He said.
“The house does indeed belong to you.”
From his briefcase, he took out another document.
“Along with the unpaid mortgage on the house – “
He opened the document.
” – exactly 2.8 million.”
Robert’s face wasn’t just pale anymore.
It was ashen.
“What… mortgage?”
“Mr. William Harrison mortgaged this property in 2020 to secure a bank loan of 2.8 million.”
The lawyer said, “Used to purchase the two commercial properties on Independence Boulevard.”
He looked at Robert.
“The first clause of the will clearly states: The property belongs to the eldest son, Robert.”
“The signature page of the will states: The heir confirms acceptance of all terms of the will.”
“You have already signed.”
He paused.
“According to the relevant provisions of the Federal Civil Statutes, an heir who accepts an inheritance shall bear the debts of the deceased within the scope of the estate.”
“Which means – the house is yours.”
“And so is the mortgage.”
“Two point eight million.”
My sister-in-law’s legs gave way, and she slumped back into her seat.
“Two point eight…”
Robert stood there, looking as if his bones had been pulled out.
“This… I don’t accept this… I can renounce the inheritance…”
“Mr. Harrison.”
The lawyer’s voice was calm. “You have already signed. The will has already taken effect.”
“Once it’s in effect, it’s in effect.”
Robert turned to me.
“Julian – did you know about this all along?”
I looked at him.
“Didn’t you say, ‘Dad’s arrangements must have their reasons’?”
His mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
No words came out.
My sister-in-law shrieked.
“No! This doesn’t count! He didn’t know there was a mortgage when he signed!”
The lawyer looked up.
“The second line on the signature page – ‘I confirm that I am fully aware of the contents of the will and the accompanying rights and obligations.’”
He pushed the signature page in front of my sister-in-law.
“Signed by your husband.”
My sister-in-law stared at that line of text.
Her hands were trembling.
The living room was quiet for a long time.
Then the lawyer said, “We’re not done yet.”
He took out an envelope.
Three words were written on the envelope.
“For Julian.”
It was Dad’s handwriting.
Crooked and shaky, clearly written after his stroke.
“Mr. William Harrison requested that this letter be opened publicly after the reading of the will.”
The lawyer looked at me. “But the recipient is Mr. Julian, so I need your consent.”
I nodded.
“Read it.”
The lawyer opened the envelope.
And pulled out two pages.
The first page was Dad’s message to me.
The second page was a bank statement.
The lawyer read the letter first.
“Julian:”
“By the time you read this letter, Dad will be gone.”
“The most right thing Dad did in this life was raising you.”
“The most wrong thing was letting you shoulder everything alone for three years.”
My eyes grew hot.
“It’s not that Dad didn’t know how much you suffered. Every morning when you helped me turn over, you thought I was asleep. I wasn’t. I was awake the whole time.”
“You had chilblains on your hands. Your back was bad. You were always so tired.”
“But you never once cried in front of me.”
Tears rolled down my face.
I didn’t wipe them away.
“When Dad asked you to keep the shop’s title transfer a secret, you really didn’t say a single word. For three years. Even when Robert called to ask what assets Dad had, you didn’t say anything.”
Robert’s face turned pale green.
Everyone’s eyes turned to him.
“Dad knew what Robert was thinking. His first call was to ask about my condition, and the second was to ask who would split the medical bills. Whenever he came to see me, it was never for more than two hours.”
“Dad also knew what Eleanor was thinking. She only came to see me to show off on Instagram. When she hugged me for selfies, I could smell her perfume. A five-hundred-dollar bottle of perfume. And she gave you – gave Julian two thousand dollars.”
“But what Dad knew best – was what Robert did five years ago.”
The lawyer paused.
He picked up the second page – the bank statement.
“‘The incident five years ago’ mentioned in Mr. William Harrison’s letter – “
He placed the bank statement on the table.
“Between April 2019 and January 2020, Mr. Robert Harrison transferred a total of 470,000 from Mr. William Harrison’s bank account in seven separate transactions.”
My oldest brother’s face drained of all color.
“The memo line said ‘loan’.”
The lawyer said, “But Mr. William Harrison stated in his letter – this money was never returned.”
“Robert said he borrowed it for an investment. I don’t know what he invested in. But the money never came back.”
“470,000. It was my life savings.”
“I didn’t confront him about it. Because he is my son.”
“But I remembered.”
“I remembered everything.”
My oldest brother slumped on the sofa.
My sister-in-law’s face could no longer be described as “pale”. It was ashen.
The relatives’ eyes were no longer on me.
They all looked at my oldest brother.
My aunt opened her mouth: “Robert… 470,000…”
Second Uncle put down his teacup and shook his head.
Third Uncle stood up: “No wonder William kept saying his savings weren’t enough lately…”
The whispers turned into a low buzz.
My oldest brother sat on the sofa.
His hands were shaking.
His lips were trembling.
“I… I meant it… as a loan…”
No one responded.
My second sister shrank into the corner.
428,600.
That was the entire sum of savings she had inherited.
Dad’s original savings were far more than that.
Because 470,000 was “borrowed” by my oldest brother.
Because 2.8 million went into buying the commercial properties –
Which were transferred to me.
In other words, the 420,000 my second sister received –
Was just the loose change left in Dad’s hands.
Her face didn’t look too good either.
