Injustice
Mum, I asked again, trying to steady my voice, why didnt I get the full million? Its only three hundred and thirty thousand What sort of figure is that
I could hear the hairdryer buzzing away in the background. Mum switched it off and called out from the other room.
Thats right, love. Three hundred and thirty. Mum, Valerie, had seen to the million all on her own, it seemed.
But Id been expecting a great deal more.
Three hundred and thirty? Mum, wheres the rest? Wheres the other six hundred and seventy thousand? I was expecting a million. Just about exactly. This was my fathers money, and you were supposed to transfer it to me after the house sold.
Oh, Emily, dont start with your numbers, she said, brushing off my tone, you know I handled everything honestly.
Honestly? In what way, exactly? I shifted my weight and the wooden floor creaked underfoot, as if it too shared my outrage. I gave you authority to sell my flatthe one I inherited from Dad. I asked you to send me the proceeds. So where? Where did the rest go?
I shouldnt have let my guard down so soon.
I did send it! I acted as your motherlike any good mother would. I split the money equally between all my children. Your rightful third is what you have.
My rightful everything is what I should have had.
You divided the inheritance from my dad into three? For me and for them? I meant my stepbrothers, Mark and Daniel. Mum, those were my fathers savings! I have a different dad. Unless this is all a surprise to you.
It doesnt matter who the father was, she said, now fussing with her hairbrush, Moneys a family thing. Theyre your brothers. And Im your mother. What, you expect me to let you keep such a sum to yourself, while those two have nothing? It wouldnt be right. I made it fair. Sorted it all out.
If only I could go back to the day I signed that letter of authority and give myself a good telling off.
Fair? You divided my million into three parts! Three hundred and thirty thousand each! Wheres the rest? The flat was worth a bit more than that.
Yes, a bit over the million when all was said and done, Valerie shrugged. Rounded down. Ive kept the difference for the bother of sorting it all. Would you have dealt with the endless paperwork? No! I did while you were at work.
As if you overexerted yourself, I said sharply.
Mind your tone! Mum barked. He was your father, yes, but Im your mother, and I decide. Anyway, youre a grown-up, the eldest. Boys need more for starting their lives. Youre a girl, you dont need half as much.
Oh, so I dont need a home? Im expected to scrape by just because Im a woman, and apparently that means I dont need anything? My sarcasm did nothing to phase her. Send over the rest, Mum. Now.
No. She ended the conversation right there.
She knew I wouldnt do anything drastic. Who sues their own mother over money? No one would take my side, people would be appalled. And even so, shes my mum. We speak from time to time.
A couple of weeks passed. Once Id pulled myself together, I spotted new photos on social media. Mark, beaming, stood in front of a shiny blue Volkswagen Polo. Daniel posted a selfie with, Meet my new beauty! Theyd both bought themselves budget cars. Well, that was that. I put my three hundred and thirty grand aside and decided to wait. Patience is a virtue, Grandma always said.
A year drifted by. I saved, I worked, I planned. I let it gobut I never forgot. Mum chatted on as normal, phoning with updates and gossip as if nothing had ever happened.
But today, her voice was off, brittle in a way that set my nerves on edge.
Whats wrong, Mum?
Its your gran. Well, Mark and Daniels gran. She passed away this morning.
I felt oddly detached, like watching a film through a pane of glass. That lady had never played any part in my lifejust Mums mother-in-law, or the boys gran. I felt sorry for them, of course.
Oh, Im so sorry for your loss.
Theres loads to organise: the funeral, paperwork, all that. Ive no one to help, the boys well, theyre hopeless in these situations. Could you come? Lend a hand?
It wasnt out of spite that I couldnt go. There was just no way I could get time off work at such short notice, let alone for someone Id met perhaps three times.
Mum, Im at work. I honestly cant just up sticks for a funeral of someone I barely knew, I told her quietly.
Theyd never even invited me to that grans home.
Please! Mum pleaded. I really need the help.
I cant come, but I can help with money. Tell me what you need and Ill transfer it straight away.
She hesitated, wanting to refuse, but the money was tempting.
Well, its not quite the same, but fine. Could you add twenty thousand to help cover things?
Done. And Ill send a bit more separately, so youre not worrying about small things. Consider it my little contribution to their grans memory.
Thank you, Emmie. Youre always a lifesaver.
I hung up feeling sickly satisfied. There it wasa handy excuse for not appearing. Money instead of my presence. Now no one could blame me.
Six months went by. The funeral was history. Daniel and Mark, as far as I could tell, had treated themselves to more gadgets, maybe bikes or new phones.
On a quiet Tuesday, I decided it was time. I rang Mum while I sat in the staff room, taking a breather before the next meeting.
Hi Mum, hows everything?
Emily! Things are ticking along. Daniels found a new job, much better. Marks doing well too, hes dating now.
Im happy for them, I replied. Theres just one thing I wanted to ask about
Whats that? She sounded instantly wary.
Well, its been six months since the funeral. The estate should all be sorted now, right?
She stiffenedit was even harder than the conversation about the original three hundred and thirty thousand.
Emily, what are you getting at? Of course, everythings settled.
Sowheres my share of that inheritance?
What inheritance? She feigned ignorance, but I could always tell when she was lying.
From the gran.
She wasnt your gran.
And does that matter? I pressed. You always said none of your kids should be left out. My inheritance from Dad you split three ways, to make it fair, you said.
Emily, its not the same! Completely different.
How? You said inheritance is family property, you decide as the mother, and all your children must be supported.
Its not the same at all
Oh, really? How convenient. When splitting MY million, my fathers legacy somehow becomes communal and everyone gets an equal slice. But when it comes to THEIR grans house, suddenly inheritance is strictly by bloodline?
Dont split hairs! Mum huffed. What, you expect me to tell the boys you want a share of their grandmothers estate?
Im saying you used my trust to keep a third of what was mine by right, on the grounds of same mother, so equal inheritance, I explained calmly. Now Id like that same fairness, since youre so fond of it. You helped them sell the house, didnt you?
The moneys already spent.
Spent on what? Cars? Renovations? Well, Id like my share too. Wheres my money, Mum? You always told me I should make do with less, just because Im a girl. I dont agree.
She went quiet, aching for a way out of the trap shed set herself a year ago. Its always been this way: for the boys, my stepdad was the real father, so they got the best stuff, the best treatment. That gran never liked medistant, not her own. Mum never stuck up for me.
What sort of person are you, Emily? she finally muttered. Why do you even care about the money? You work, youre young, youre healthy. The boys need to think about housing, theyre men, its harder for them!
So, your view is: Dads inheritance is shared, because were siblings. Their grans inheritance is just for them, because theyre men and Im what, a girl who doesnt count?
Dont be cheeky, Mum snapped. Wheres all this greed coming from?
Mum would never admit she was wrong. To her, Im grasping just for wanting justice.
You may not realise, but by law you had to transfer all the sale money to me. Theres still time if I wanted to pursue this I left it hanging.
Emily! Are you threatening me? she whispered, suddenly scared.
No, Mum. But I can still ask for whats mine. Think about it.
A month later, the full sum arrived in my account, and I discovered, with no surprise, that Id been quietly blocked.
