I gripped a gift bag outside Kara’s stunning home, my nerves tight. Two years after my husband Mark’s death, his mother rarely included me in family events. His siblings usually invited me, and I went, eager to stay close. Kara’s birthday party invitation caught me off guard, but I wanted to honor Mark and his grandmother, Eleanor, who’d been my rock until her passing three months ago. Her memory gave me strength. I rang the doorbell, and Kara answered, her smile thin. “You’re here,” she said, grabbing my gift and turning away. “Party’s outside,” she muttered, leading me through the house.
The backyard was lively with family and friends. Some greeted me kindly, others stared coldly. Emma, Mark’s niece, hugged me tightly. “Kara invited you?” she asked, puzzled. I nodded, wary. Kara’s biting remarks soon hit—mocking my clothes, my job, and my place in the family. “You’re not one of us,” she said. When she introduced Diane, hinting at a new daughter-in-law, I’d had enough. “Why invite me to humiliate me?” I asked. Kara’s eyes blazed. “Leave!” she shouted. “You don’t belong!” I walked out, tears falling as I reached my car, her cruelty burning.
At home, Emma called, her voice shaking. “Get a lawyer and come back!” She’d overheard Kara and a lawyer plotting to hide Eleanor’s will, which left her business to me, not Kara. They planned to fake documents. My shock turned to resolve. I called David, my lawyer, who was livid. “Meet me at Kara’s,” he said. We returned, silencing the party. Kara’s fake smile faded as David spoke. “We know you’re stealing Melissa’s inheritance,” he said. Kara lied, but her lawyer, sweating, confessed. “Kara wanted to forge the will,” he said. The crowd gasped. Kara raged, saying I wasn’t family. David explained Eleanor’s legal right to choose me. Kara collapsed, defeated. Emma held my hand, saying Eleanor would be proud. As I left, I felt Eleanor’s spirit, her legacy now mine to protect.
