**Diary Entry**
*10th May, 2024*
I should have known this day would come. Mum and your brother are coming for their shareyouve cheated him, youve no conscience. The words still sting. I gave up my inheritance for Dad, and in return, he left everything to methis flat, his savings, all of it. His voice echoes in my mind: *Youll understand one day. Just dont trust themtheyll lie to you.* Back then, I didnt know who he meant. Now, its all too clear.
My names Emily. My aunt, Margaret, is Mums younger sister. They hadnt spoken in yearsrumour had it Margaret swindled our grandmothers inheritance. I knew I had cousins, Oliver and Charlotte. We played together as children, but time pulled us apart. Then, out of the blue, Charlotte found me on social media. What she told me left me cold.
The past few years have been dark. Mum passed three years ago. Dad held on just long enough for me to finish uni in Manchester before following her. They adored each otherhed bring her flowers, praise her endlessly. I dont think he ever recovered from losing her.
After Mums death, Dad inherited half the flat. I signed my share over to him, and to my shock, he left it entirely to me. *Youll see why later,* hed said. *Dont trust them.* I pressed himwho were *they*? What lies was he afraid of?but he dodged my questions.
Six months after the funeral, Charlotte reached out. She reminded me she was Margarets daughter and said shed be in Manchester soon. *We need to talk,* she wrote. *Its important.* I saw no harm in meeting. I gave her my address and number, telling her to call before she came.
She arrived a week later. I met her at the stationshe seemed uneasy. Stepping into the flat, she muttered, *Lovely place. Shame you wont keep it long.* Over tea, she laid it all out: Oliver was my half-brother. She didnt know the details, but she claimed thats why Gran left everything to Margaret instead of splitting it fairly.
Then came the worst of it. Charlotte said Dad had been with Margaret first, left her when she got pregnant, then married Mum. *Aunt Margaret and Oliver are coming for whats theirs,* she warned. *Be ready.*
The shock still hasnt worn off. Oliver wont get a pennythe flats mine, Dads savings (hidden at home, never trusted banks), and the car I bought myself. Everything he had is now mine. The idea of a half-brother feels absurdDad worshipped Mum. But life has a way of upending certainty.
*Thanks for the warning, Charlotte,* I told her. *Let them come if they darebut theyll leave with nothing but lies.*
And so I brace myself, knowing the truth will out, one way or another.
