“Claire, this isn’t about punishing them,” he wrote. “It’s about giving you a chance to build a life where you are wanted. Use this money for education, a safe place to live, and whatever dream makes you stand up straighter. And if they ever try to tell you you’re ungrateful, remember who left you alone in a hospital bed.”
By the time I finished reading, tears had soaked the paper. Peter handed me a tissue and waited.
“I didn’t want to believe what the nurse told me on the phone,” he said. “So I called your dad myself. He said the hospital was ‘being dramatic’ and that you always liked attention. That’s when I booked a flight and grabbed the envelope.”
Rage and grief tangled in my chest. “What am I supposed to do with all this?” I whispered.
Peter’s jaw tightened. “First, you get better. Then we go home, and you hear the rest from the lawyer—with your parents in the room. Your grandfather wanted them to see exactly what they threw away.”
