When Melissa’s stepmother coldly kicks her out of a family gathering, she believes it’s just another act of cruelty—until her niece calls her with a trembling voice. “You need to come back—with a lawyer.” A desperate cover-up and a web of lies start to unravel. Now, Melissa must fight for what is rightfully hers.
I stood before Kara’s sprawling house, my fingers tightening around the small gift bag I had brought. The knot in my stomach tightened.
In the two years since Mark’s death, his mother had rarely associated me with anything.
Usually, Mark’s siblings invited me to family events, even though, strictly speaking, I was no longer part of their family.
But it was nice to be included, and I always made the effort to attend. When I received the invitation to Kara’s birthday party, I knew I had to go.
“You can do this, Melissa,” I whispered to myself, taking a deep breath. “For Mark. For Eleanor.”
Eleanor. The thought of her still ached in my heart.
Mark’s grandmother had been my rock after his death, treating me like the daughter she had never had. She had only passed away three months ago, and I still found myself reaching for the phone to call her every time something good or bad happened.
I rang the doorbell, putting on what I hoped was a convincing smile. The door opened, and Kara stood there, her lips pressed into a thin line.
“Melissa. You made it.” Her tone suggested she had hoped the opposite.
“Happy birthday, Kara,” I said, handing her the gift bag.
She took it without thanking me and turned away. “Everyone’s in the backyard.”
I followed her into the house, noticing that nothing had changed since my last visit.
There were photos of Mark everywhere: as a child, teenager, college graduate—but notably, none of our wedding. Kara had always been clear about her feelings towards me.
The backyard was filled with family, friends, and close ones.
Some faces lit up when they saw me, pulling me into tight hugs. Others looked at me with barely concealed disapproval.
Emma, Mark’s niece, rushed toward me. At 20, she had always felt more like a little sister than a niece to Mark.
“Melissa! I’m so glad you came!” She hugged me tightly, her warmth a sharp contrast to Kara’s coldness.
“Kara invited me,” I said, still a bit taken aback by it.
Emma raised her eyebrows. “She did? That’s… unexpected.”
“Yeah.”
The next hour was an exercise in patience. I tried to blend in and make conversation, but every time I found a moment of peace, Kara would appear with a sharp remark.
“This outfit is… pretty casual for a family gathering, don’t you think, Melissa?” she said loudly while I was talking to Mark’s uncle.
“Oh, I think it’s lovely,” the uncle’s wife said kindly.
Kara ignored her. “I’m surprised you’re still coming to things like this. Most people would have moved on by now.”
I bit my tongue. “Family is important to me, Kara.”
“But are we really your family?” she asked with a cold smile. “Without Mark?”
Her words stung more than I wanted to admit. I excused myself to get a drink, feeling Kara’s eyes bore into my back.
By the time the cake was served, my patience was worn thin.
I had endured comments about my job (“Still in that little marketing company?”), my appearance (“You look tired, dear”), and even my grief (“It’s been two years, Melissa, when are you going to start dating again?”).
I was picking at my cake when Kara approached again, this time with a woman I didn’t recognize.
“This is Diane,” Kara said. “She’s a colleague of my son’s at law school. They’ve spent a lot of time together.”
The implication was clear. She’d soon have a new daughter-in-law, and I had overstayed my welcome.
Diane smiled awkwardly, clearly feeling caught up in this.
Something inside me snapped.
“Enough with the veiled attacks, Kara. Is this why you invited me here, so you could argue with me?”
The crowd around us fell silent. Kara’s face turned red.
“How dare you?” she hissed. “You have no right to speak to me like that in my own house!”
“I’m just responding to everything you’ve thrown at me all afternoon,” I said, standing my ground.
Kara exploded.
“Leave!” she screamed, pointing toward the door. “You’re not welcome here anymore! You never were! Mark’s gone, Eleanor’s gone, and you don’t belong in this family!”
The silence was deafening. Faces turned away, embarrassed by the scene.
I carefully set my plate down, determined not to cry in front of these people.
“Goodbye, Kara,” I said quietly. “Happy birthday.”
I walked through the house with my head held high, but once I was in my car, the tears came.
I drove home on autopilot, the humiliation burning in my chest. As I unlocked my front door, my phone rang.
Emma’s name flashed on the screen.
“Emma, I really don’t want to talk about what just happened,” I began, wiping my eyes.
“Melissa, listen to me,” Emma’s voice was urgent, out of breath. “You need to come back here. With a lawyer.”
I froze. “What?”
“She didn’t just throw you out for no reason. They’re hiding something from you!”
My heart started pounding. “What are you talking about?”
“After you left, I heard Kara talking to a man in her office. He’s a lawyer, the same one who handled Grandma Eleanor’s estate. Melissa, she left you her business. The whole thing. Not Aunt Kara.”
I sank into my couch. “What?”
“Kara found out before the party. That’s why she’s been so horrible to you. But there’s more.” Emma’s voice dropped to a whisper.
“They plan to hide the inheritance from you,” she continued. “The lawyer talked about making fake documents. They’re going to steal it from you, Melissa!”
My shock quickly turned to resolve. “Thanks, Emma. I’ll take care of it.”
I hung up and immediately dialed another number. David had been my lawyer since Mark and I had married. He picked up on the second ring.
“Melissa? Is everything okay?”
I quickly explained the situation. David’s response was immediate and full of anger.
“These crooks… I’ll be at Kara’s in twenty minutes. If they’re trying to forge inheritance documents, we need to act fast before they file anything.”
Twenty-five minutes later, David and I entered Kara’s birthday party.
Conversations stopped mid-sentence when people noticed us. Kara, who had been laughing with a group of guests, turned around and froze.
“Melissa!” she quickly regained her composure, a fake smile spreading across her face. “What are you doing here?”
David stepped forward, his normally friendly face stern. “Ma’am, I’m Melissa’s attorney, David. We need to speak with you and your attorney immediately.”
Kara’s smile faltered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“We know everything,” David said firmly. “And unless your lawyer admits to what you’re planning, I’ll be calling the authorities.”
A thin, nervous-looking man stepped forward from the crowd. I vaguely recognized him from Eleanor’s funeral. He glanced at Kara, who stared at him.
“I don’t know what you think you know,” Kara began, but David cut her off.
“We know that Eleanor left her business to Melissa, not you,” he said loudly enough for everyone to hear. “And we know you’re planning to forge documents to steal that inheritance.”
Whispers spread throughout the party.
The lawyer shifted uncomfortably, sweat beading on his forehead.
David took out his phone. “We can do this the easy way, or the legal way. Your choice.”
The lawyer looked at Kara, then the phone, then the crowd of witnesses. His shoulders slumped.
“It’s true,” he admitted quietly. “Ms. Thompson asked me… to adjust some papers regarding her mother’s will.”
The backyard erupted in shocked murmurs and gasps. Kara’s face went from red to white.
“You idiot!” she screamed at her lawyer. “That business is mine! My mother built it from nothing! Melissa has no right to it! She’s not even blood family!”
“Actually,” David said calmly, “Eleanor had every legal right to leave her property to whoever she wanted. And she chose Melissa.”
“This isn’t over,” Kara snarled.
“You might want to stop talking,” David advised her. “We have enough evidence to file charges for attempted fraud.”
Kara seemed to deflate in an instant. She sank into a nearby chair, defeated.
While David calmly discussed next steps with the lawyer, Emma appeared at my side, squeezing my hand.
“I knew Grandma Eleanor would want you to have it,” she whispered.
I replied, tears in my eyes.
As I left the party, I felt a strange lightness. It wasn’t about the business or the money.
It was knowing that Eleanor had believed in me and wanted me to carry on her legacy. And at that moment, I swore I could feel her presence beside me, her hand on my shoulder, guiding me toward the future, whatever it may hold.
