Woman Learns of Grandma’s Death Only a Year Later & Demands Her Share of the Inheritance – Story of the Day

Emily left home as soon as she turned 18 and didn't care to call her family. After her company went bankrupt, she had to return home only to discover that her grandmother had died a year ago. She demanded her part of the inheritance, but something shocking happened, and her life was never the same.

Emily was waiting at the airport for the flight to Melbourne, Florida. She hated returning to that boring town, but there was no other option. The company she had worked for since she graduated college went bankrupt, and the country was in the middle of a crisis. She couldn't find any other work.

Moreover, all her friends stopped communicating with her after losing that high-paying job. They were unwilling to help her, and she could no longer afford rent in California. Therefore, returning home was her only answer.

"Jesus," she grumbled to herself. "I haven't been home in ten years."

"Where's my inheritance, Jimmy?" Emily demanded, looking directly at her brother with a hateful expression.

When she was a teenager, Emily decided that she wanted to study in California and enjoy her life away from her family. She didn't think they were terrible people, but they were too dull for her. She wanted excitement and something more than life in small-town America. So she moved to the big city and almost forgot about them.

She answered their calls occasionally but mostly ignored them. She didn't want to hear them begging for her to return for the holidays. Most of the time, she had plans already, and she didn't care for their nagging either. Eventually, she started ignoring her family and all their messages were left ignored for years.

But she was on her way back, and they would be surprised.

***

Luckily, their reunion was not so strange. They were shocked to see her, but her parents welcomed her home. They still have her room exactly as she had left it. Emily swore she would leave soon enough. But she noticed someone's absolute absence during dinner.

"Mom, where's Grandma?" Emily asked while forking some of her spaghetti.

Her parents looked at each other with confused expressions, and her brother, Jimmy, frowned at her. "Are you kidding, Emily?" he asked, almost angry.

But Emily was just as confused. "What? What's the problem? I haven't heard you guys talk about Grandma since I arrived so I thought I would ask about her. What are you staring like that?"

"Emily, your grandmother died a year ago," her dad answered, twisting his hands on the table in seriousness.

"WHAT? Grandma died? Why didn't you tell me?" Emily demanded.

"We called a million times. I sent you emails inviting you to the funeral that you ignored, and I even sent you a direct message on your phone. You didn’t see those?" Jimmy replied angrily.

"I didn't see them!" Emily countered.

Jimmy grabbed her phone, which she always kept nearby, and scrolled through it until he found the message. "Here. It's right here! If you bothered to call or even just answer our phone calls, you would know what's happening!"

"Jimmy…" his mother reproached.

"No, Mom. She comes here after years of nothing and wants a place to stay. And she has the gall to ask about Grandma! So that's why you couldn't be bothered to come to the funeral?" her brother seethed in anger.

Emily was thinking a mile a minute. Grandma Susan was not insanely wealthy, but she was well off. "What about the inheritance? Did she leave me anything?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Jimmy bellowed.

"Jimmy, calm down," their mother tried to interject again.

"Where's my inheritance, Jimmy?" Emily demanded, looking directly at her brother with a hateful expression.

"She left me everything! She hated that you left. But I was willing to give you half of it if you bothered to come to the funeral," Jimmy spat, throwing his cutlery on the table and standing up.

"You can't just leave! I demand to have my share! I know Grandma wouldn't have left me with nothing!" Emily yelled after Jimmy, who was rushing to the door. "I need that money!"

"To do what? So you can take it and forget about us and everything here? You selfish, narcissistic woman! Goodbye!" Jimmy shouted and went to his car.

"I'll sue you! I PROMISE I WILL! I'M CALLING MY LAWYER TOMORROW!" Emily yelled back as Jimmy drove away.

She went back inside and yelled at her parents for not defending her. But she didn't get the answer she was hoping for.

"Jimmy is right, Emily. You were gone. You didn’t care about us at all. You don't deserve that money, and you should be grateful we're letting you live here right now," her father said thoughtfully.

"You're my parents! That's your job!" she whined.

"No, it's not our job, and I'm extremely disappointed with the person you have become," he continued, then he stood up and left for his room.

Her mother had just witnessed the entire thing with pursed lips. She shook her head at Emily and followed her husband to their room.

"Fine! I don't need you!" Emily called out and stomped to her room. She grabbed her things, bought them to her car, and left for a hotel.

The following day, she called her lawyer, and he told her that it was unlikely that she would win that lawsuit. He advised her not to pursue it unless she wanted to lose more money. Emily was enraged. Her meager funds were running out and she had to do something.

***

She started working as a cleaning lady at the mall. It wasn't a bad job, but she felt it was beneath her and refused to be friends with her co-workers. She was sure she could do everything alone. However, she was tired and had to sell off most of her designer clothing. It was not a good look for her.

One day, Jimmy spotted her cleaning a section of the floor and stopped to talk to her.

"What do you want?" she snapped, moving the mop left and right through the floor.

"I wanted to ask if you're alright," Jimmy said, placing his hands in his pockets.

"I'm fine. See?"

"Yeah… I see. Where are you living right now?" Jimmy wondered. He was trying to extend an olive branch, but she wasn't taking it.

"It's none of your business. Unless you want to talk about my inheritance again," Emily answered angrily.

Jimmy huffed, taking his hands out of his pockets. "You know… I came here to offer you something. I was going to let you live in Grandma's house so you wouldn't have to pay rent. But your attitude just changed my mind. Goodbye. I hope you have a nice life."

Emily looked up and saw her brother walk away. She huffed in return and went back to work, thinking she didn't need him.

But she did. And her attitude just cost her everything.

What can we learn from this story?

• It's important to remember your family members. Everyone is busy with their own lives, but a phone call doesn't take long. Emily forgot that and paid the price.
• Your attitude can change everything. Jimmy wanted to offer Emily something, but her attitude made him change his mind. She lost a big chance to redeem herself as a result.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about two daughters who learned that their father left his inheritance to someone else.

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