Her nephew said she left me nothing

“You touch one thing in here and I swear—”

“You’ll what?” I turned. “Sue me? Please. I want a lawyer in this room as badly as you don’t.”

His face went red. He stayed in the doorway, calculating as I crossed to the tall antique cabinet in the corner. I had never seen it open.

The brass key slid in smooth as butter. The lock clicked.

Inside, hanging from a thin ribbon, was a thick cream envelope with my name on it.

My hands shook as I broke the seal.

“What is that?” Arthur stepped into the room. “What are you holding?”

I read the first page silently.

Then the second.

Then I had to sit down on her sewing stool because my knees stopped working.

Dear Addie,

I told you that I used to work in my own store in the city, but what I didn’t tell you was that I still own that store. I left it in the care of Simon, the last person I mentored before retiring.