I imagined taking my parents to dinner without checking my bank balance afterward. Then I shut the laptop. I needed to reject the gift before my resolve weakened.
The next morning, I phoned the lawyer to refuse the inheritance.
“Are you certain?”
I stared at the loan reminder on my screen. Refusing meant years more payments, but protecting my career mattered more.
“Yes,” I said. “Send me what I need to sign.”
Before work, I called Nora.
“I refused the money. You don’t need to file a complaint.”
“Refusing it now proves nothing,” she said. “You got caught.”
“I didn’t know about it.”
“Grandma talked about that money like it was our whole future. I buried my sister on Saturday. Now there’s a letter naming you.”
Nothing I said persuaded her.
