An Unexpected Inheritance

   The Unexpected Inheritance

Denise was in her last year of school. She was an only child, and they weren’t a rich family. Her father divorced her mom when she was just 3 years old and her mother has been working since in an old folks home, cleaning and making sure the elderly got their medicine.

Joanie, Denise’s mother worked for years. She had no choice for she had her home to take care of and put Denise in school, along with bills to pay.

Each day she got home she was almost too tired to do her own work so Denise would try to help her.

She would say, “Mom, when I get a good job you’re quitting your job. You work too hard and you’re not going to able to take it and I worry about you.”

“Don’t worry, Honey, I’ll be okay, we’ll make it.”

“Yes, but you won’t.”

Life went on, Denise went to school each day and her mom continued her job.

The following day after a month of steady continuing on with work and school it was Monday and when Denise got home the phone was ringing. When she answered it the man said, “Hello, this is lawyer Taylor. Would Mrs. Edward be around, please?”

“I’m sorry, she’s not here right now,” then added, “but she’ll be around soon.”

“Okay, will it be alright if I call back in a half an hour?”

“Yes, she should be home by then.”

Five minutes later Joanie arrived home from work. She noticed Denise wearing a frown.

“What’s the matter, Honey?”

“Mom, a lawyer called and he said he’s calling back in half an hour.”

“A lawyer? What did he want?”

“He didn’t say, only that he’ll call back.”

“Huh, that’s strange. What would he want?”

A few minutes later the phone rang. When Joanie picked up the receiver it was the lawyer calling back.

Denise stood waiting to hear what the lawyer had to say. She thought it strange that a lawyer would be calling her mother.

“Yes, I can. What time?”

“Would 1:00 o’clock be good for you?”

“Yes, I’ll be there.”

After Joanie hung up the phone Denise asked, “What did he want, mom?”

“He wants to see me at 1:00 tomorrow.”

“Why would he want to see you?”

“I’m not sure. Do you want to come with me?”

“I would mom, but we are doing our last exams of the year and I can’t miss it or I would go.”

“It’s okay Honey, I’ll go by myself. He might want to see me alone anyway.”

“I hope he hasn’t bad news to tell you.”

“I don’t think so. It could be important news about anything, but I don’t know what it could be.”

The next day after Denise left for school Joanie got ready to go see the lawyer. She was a little nervous because never has a lawyer ever wanted to see her. She waited in the waiting room wondering what this could be about. Shortly after the secretary came to let her know the lawyer was ready to see her. Joanie thanked her and when she got in the lawyer’s office after introducing himself he told her to take a seat.

“Mrs. Edward,” said the lawyer, “you have an inheritance.” He looked down at a letter in front of him.

Joanie just looked at him with a frown and said, “I do? From who? I have no family. My mother and father are gone. I have no sisters nor brothers.”

The lawyer looked at her with a slight grin. “Ma’m you had a half sister. A month ago she got killed in a car accident and the inheritance has just been finalized.”

“But I’m sorry lawyer Taylor you must be mistaken.”

“No ma’m, her maiden name was Edward Grace Edward. In the letter she left it said she had money she wanted her half sister to have with your name on it.”

Joanie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I had a half sister? Why did we never meet?”

“In the letter she tells that because she was half black she felt you would never want anything to do with her. Her father worked all his life in the mines and later passed away and left her lots of money and he was black. She end the letter with “Sister, I love you though we’ve never met.”

Joanie put her head down. Tears filled her eyes. She lifted her head to look at the lawyer and said, “I never got to know her. I wish she hadn’t felt that way. She’s the only sister I ever had and didn’t know it.”

The lawyer felt bad for her and passed her a klneeze. “I will tell you how much she willed to you and then tell you where it is. She left 2 million dollars.”

“What?,” said Joanie in shock, staring at the lawyer with bulged eyes.

“Now here is where you have to go to get it. It’s in the last mine her husband worked.”

Joanie frowned, “A mine? Why would he put it there?”

“She thought the money would be safe if he buried it in the mine. Now you’ll have to go find it. I can tell you what to look for.”

“Sir, I’m afraid of a mine. I fear they may blow up. My gran-father was killed when a blast blew up in his face.”

“I understand your fear but no one has worked there for sometime so it shouldn’t have anything to cause it to blow and it’s a lot of money to lose.”

“Yes,” Joanie shook her head and rose up from her chair. As she was opening the door the lawyer said, “Good luck.”

She thanked him again, then left.

When she got home Denise had just came in from school.

“How did everything go today at the lawyer’s, mom?”

“Well, you won’t believe this but I had a half sister.”

“You had, a half sister and you didn’t know it?”

“No, I feel sad we never met. She got killed in a car accident.”

“Oh Mom, what a shame. Why didn’t she ever come to see you?”

“Well, her father was black and she thought because she was a little dark I wouldn’t accept her. Then he gave me a picture of her, look.”

“Oh mom, she is beautiful, we would had accepted her. She was family. Never mind the colour.”

“Then when she died she left me a will.”

Denise looked at her mother with a surprise frown. “A will?”

“Yes, 2 Million dollars.”

“Are you kidding me?” Denise stressed.

“No, but I have to find it.”

“What do you mean?” asked Denise.

“It’s in a mine, but the lawyer told me how to find it. I hope I can. Can you come with me?”

“Yes, we finished our exams today. We only need to go back Monday.”

“The mine is Cripple Creek. You know where they found a body last year?”

“Yes, Mrs Crowmen was her name, and we have to go there?”

“Yes, that’s where she told her husband to hide the money. We can take a baseball bat and flashlights.”

“How on earth are we going to find it?”

“We will try because we need it.”

The next day after breakfast and after they collected the things they needed, they left.

“I dread this,” Denise told her mom.

“I do as well. Just hope and pray it all goes well.”

When they got to the mine they walked about an hour.

“We’ve walked a long ways, mom. I’m getting tired.”

Walking, they thought they heard someone coming.

“Did you hear that mom?”

“What?”

“Someone is following us.”

“Let’s hurry.”

As they kept walking and shinning their lights they spotted something shinny.

“This might be it,” said Joanie.

“Yes, I think it is. Let’s dig it out.”

Finally after they got the case out they heard a voice. They shone their lights and noticed a tall black man standing watching them.

“Good, you found it. Pass it over.” he said with a mean voice.

They hesitated. Then he said again.

“Pass me the case.” He sounded real mean and just then Denise took off running as fast as she could. When he caught her she screamed. Joanie ran after them with her bat. When she caught up to them she lifted the bat and knocked the man out.

They ran to their car and when they looked back the man was running after them but Joanie quickly got in the car and started it up and put it in drive. She was going to fast for the man to catch up.

They went to report him to the police and the police told them he was the man they have been looking for and thanked them.

Joanie never had to work again and she was able to pay Denise’s way to college.