They Changed The Locks On My Own House. My Daughter-In-Law Looked At Me And Said: “It’s Ours Now.” She Expected Me To Cry. Instead, I Smiled, Pulled Out My Phone, And Prepared To SET THINGS STRAIGHT.

When I hung up the phone, I sat in the kitchen for who knows how long, processing the news. Arthur was gone, but he had left me a fortune that would change my life forever.

I could renovate the house, help Robert, more even buy a second property as an investment. What I didn’t know was that Emily had been listening to the entire conversation from the living room. “Mother-in-law.”

She appeared suddenly with an expression I had never seen before.

A mixture of figned pity and poorly concealed excitement. “I heard about your brother. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you, Emily,” I replied, drying my tears.

“Arthur and I hadn’t spoken much lately, but I loved him.”

“Of course you did,” she said, sitting next to me with a closeness she hadn’t shown in months. “And it’s wonderful that he remembered you in his will. $340,000 is a lot of money.

You must feel so relieved to have that financial security at your age.”

The way she said at your age made me uncomfortable, but I was too sad to pay it any mind. What I did notice was how her eyes sparkled when she mentioned the exact amount. She had heard the entire phone call.

That same afternoon, when Robert got home from work, Emily had already told him everything. For the first time in months, my son came to hug me with genuine affection. “Mom, I’m sorry about Uncle Arthur,” he said.

“But it gives me so much peace to know that you have that financial security now. You won’t have to worry about anything anymore.”

Over the next few days, Emily’s transformation was incredible. She went back to being the sweet daughter-in-law from the early months.

She made me coffee in the mornings. She asked me how I had slept. She even suggested we cook together like we used to.

“Mother-in-law,” she said while we were making stew, “I’ve been thinking about how badly I’ve behaved lately. The stress from work, adjusting to marriage, it all made me very tense. But I want you to know that I love you very much and that this is your home.”

For a moment, my heart filled with hope.

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