Jake’s expression shifted, and I could see him putting the pieces together. This boy was smart—scholarship to Ohio State, studying business. He looked at his mother, then at his uncle, and I saw understanding dawn in his eyes.
«You called them asking for help?» he asked me quietly.
«I did. I told them I needed assistance with my medication costs.»
«And what did they say?» Derek and Ashley suddenly found the carpet very interesting. The silence stretched until Jake filled it. «They said no, didn’t they? My own mother and uncle refused to help you with medicine you need to stay alive.»
«Now Jake, it’s not that simple,» Derek started, but Jake held up his hand.
«But when I offered to help, you bought me a car instead.» Jake’s voice was soft with wonder. «This whole thing was a test, wasn’t it, Grandma?»
Smart boy. But his mother and uncle were about to get much smarter too.
«A test?» Ashley’s voice rose to a pitch that dogs probably found painful. «Are you seriously telling me this was all some elaborate scheme?»
I looked at this woman I’d given birth to, with her perfectly styled hair and her designer handbag that cost more than most people’s monthly rent. «Scheme is such an ugly word, Ashley. I prefer to think of it as a character assessment.»
Derek started pacing, which he’d done since he was a little boy whenever he was upset. «This is manipulation, Mom. Pure and simple manipulation.»
«Is it manipulation when someone shows you their true colors?» I asked, keeping my voice calm. «I made a simple request for help. Jake immediately offered everything he had and wanted to drive 400 miles to check on me. You, Derek, lectured me about enabling behavior and blocked my number. Ashley told me it wasn’t her problem. Those were your choices, not mine.»
«We had valid concerns,» Derek protested. «You’ve been struggling financially, making poor decisions.»
«Have I?» I stood up and walked to my desk, pulling out a folder I’d prepared for this moment. «Let’s talk about poor financial decisions. Derek, remember when you bought that motorcycle two years ago? The one you couldn’t afford? Who quietly paid off your credit card debt so you could get financing?»
Derek’s face went pale. Ashley turned to stare at her brother.
«And Ashley, that spa retreat you took after your divorce? When you were ‘getting back on your feet’? Who do you think covered your rent for three months while you ‘found yourself’?»
«How did you…» Ashley started, then stopped.
«I know about all of it. Every emergency loan you never paid back. Every favor you forgot to acknowledge. Every time you took my help for granted while planning what you’d inherit when I’m gone.» I sat back down, amazed at how calm I felt. «Did you really think I was going to spend my remaining years being treated like a convenient ATM by my own children?»
Jake was staring at his mother and uncle like he’d never seen them before. «You guys have been taking money from Grandma while complaining about your finances to me? While telling me you couldn’t help with my textbooks because money was tight?»
«That’s different,» Ashley said weakly.
«How is it different? We’re adults with responsibilities. You’re a college student.»
Jake shook his head in disgust. «No, Mom. I’m a college student with a part-time job and a grandmother who taught me the value of working for what you want. Unlike some people.»
Ashley was crying now, but I suspected they were tears of frustration, not remorse. «Mom, I apologize if we seemed ungrateful. But you have to understand our position. I’m a single mother. Derek has his own expenses.»
«You have champagne taste on a beer budget,» I said simply. «And you’ve both been supplementing your income with my generosity for years while treating me like a burden.»
«So what now?» Derek asked, his voice bitter. «You’re cutting us off? Choosing Jake over your own children?»
«I’m choosing kindness over entitlement. Jake has never asked me for anything, yet when I needed help, he offered everything. You’ve both asked for plenty but offered nothing in return.»
The room fell silent except for Ashley’s sniffling. Finally, Jake spoke up.
«Grandma, can I ask you something?» His voice was careful, like he was handling something fragile.
«Of course, sweetheart.»
«Just how rich are you?» And that’s when I decided it was time for the second phase of my plan.
I smiled at my grandson, this young man who’d proven himself worthy of trust when his own mother and uncle had failed so spectacularly. «Jake, what would you say if I told you that your dear old grandmother won the lottery three weeks ago?»
He blinked. «I’d say that explains the car.»
Derek snorted. «Mom, be serious. How much could you have won? A few thousand? Maybe $10,000?»
«Try again.»
Ashley stopped crying, suddenly very interested in our conversation. «What do you mean, ‘try again’?»
I walked back to my refrigerator and returned with the lottery ticket, the one that had been hanging there for three weeks like a perfectly ordinary piece of paper. I handed it to Jake. «Read the numbers, sweetheart.»
Jake looked at the ticket, then at me, then back at the ticket. His face went completely white. «Grandma, these are… This is… The winning numbers for the Mega Millions jackpot from three weeks ago.»
I finished gently, «$333 million.»
Derek lunged for the ticket, but Jake pulled it back. «Uncle Derek, don’t.»
«Let me see that,» Ashley demanded, but I held up my hand. «The ticket is just a souvenir now. The money has already been claimed, invested, and placed in trusts.»
I settled back into my chair, enjoying the look of pure shock on their faces. «Turns out when you’re worth over $200 million after taxes, a $25,000 car is basically pocket change.»
The silence that followed was magnificent. Derek’s mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water. Ashley had gone from pale to red to pale again.
«$200 million,» Derek finally whispered.
«Give or take a few million in investment returns this week,» I said. «I couldn’t help the satisfaction in my voice. Amazing how the market responds when you have that kind of capital to work with.»
Ashley found her voice first. «Mom, I… we had no idea. When you called asking for help, if we’d known…»
«If you’d known I was rich, you would have helped me?» I shook my head. «Ashley, do you hear yourself? You would have helped your mother if you knew there was something in it for you?»
«That’s not what I meant,» she backtracked quickly.
«Isn’t it?» I turned to Derek. «Son, let me ask you something. If I were still living on my small Social Security check and needed help with medication, would you help me?»
Derek’s pause told me everything I needed to know. «I see.» I stood up, suddenly feeling very tired. «Well, I think this conversation has been illuminating for everyone.»
«Mom, wait!» Ashley said desperately. «We need to talk about this. We need to figure out how to move forward as a family.»
«We?» I raised an eyebrow. «Ashley, 20 minutes ago, you hung up on me when I needed help. Derek blocked my number. Now you want to talk about family?»
Jake was still staring at the lottery ticket as if it might disappear. «Grandma, I can’t accept this car. Not if… I mean, this is too much.»
And that right there was why this young man was about to become my only heir. But Derek and Ashley were about to find out just how expensive their greed had become.
«Jake, sweetie, you offered me everything you had when you thought I needed help,» I said, reaching over to squeeze his hand. «That car isn’t charity. It’s a thank-you gift from someone who can finally afford to say thank you properly.»
Derek had moved beyond shock into what I could only describe as desperation. «Mom, I know we handled this wrong. But we’re family. We can work through this.»
«Can we?» I looked at him steadily. «Derek, in the three weeks since I won this money, how many times have you called just to check on me? How many times has Ashley?»
They exchanged glances. «We’ve been busy,» Ashley said weakly.
«But Jake called me twice this week. Just to chat. To tell me about his classes, ask about my garden, see if I needed anything.» I turned to my grandson. «And when I said I needed help, what did you do?»
«I offered to drive down immediately,» Jake said quietly.
«With your last $500,» I added. «Meanwhile, your mother and uncle, who I’ve financially helped for years, told me to figure it out myself and suggested putting me in assisted living.»
Derek ran his hands through his hair again. «Okay. Yes, we made mistakes. But you have to understand the position we were in. Money’s been tight for both of us. Ashley’s dealing with single motherhood. I have my own bills.»
«Derek…» My voice was sharp enough to cut glass. «Stop. Just stop.» I walked to my desk and pulled out a thick manila folder. «Do you want to know what I did during these three weeks while I was planning my little test? I hired a private investigator.»
Ashley went dead white. Derek took a step backward. «I wanted to know exactly how my children were spending money while claiming to be struggling.» I opened the folder. «Derek, your motorcycle payment is $600 a month. Ashley, your spa visits average $400 monthly. Between the two of you, you spent $2,000 at restaurants last month alone.»
«You had us investigated?» Derek’s voice cracked.
«I had my financial situation investigated. You see, when you’re worth this kind of money, you want to make sure your assets are protected from people who might take advantage of your generosity.» I smiled sweetly. «The investigator’s report was quite thorough.»
Jake was looking back and forth between his mother and uncle as if he were watching a tennis match. «What did the investigator find?»
«Well, your mother and uncle have been living well beyond their means for years. The designer clothes, the expensive hobbies, the luxury purchases—all funded by credit cards and occasional bailouts from dear old Mom.» I pulled out a spreadsheet. «Over the past five years, I’ve given or loaned your mother and uncle $63,000 combined. Not one penny has been repaid.»
«We would have paid you back,» Ashley protested.
«With what money? You’re both barely making your minimum payments as it is.» I closed the folder. «But here’s the interesting part. The investigator also looked into something else for me.»
Derek was gripping the back of the sofa so tightly his knuckles were white. «What else?»
«Your discussions about my estate. Apparently, you’ve both been quite vocal at family gatherings about how much this house might be worth, how my life insurance policy would help with your financial situations, and how it would be such a relief when I finally—what was Ashley’s phrase?—’stopped being a burden and made you both rich.'»
The silence that followed was so complete I could hear the old grandfather clock ticking in the hallway. Jake stood up slowly. «You said that about Grandma? Mom? How could you?» But I wasn’t done yet. The real revelation was just beginning.
«The investigator also discovered that Derek has been telling people I’m developing dementia,» I continued, watching my son’s face crumble. «Apparently, you’ve been setting the groundwork to challenge my mental competency, should I ever change my will.»
Jake whirled around to face his uncle. «Uncle Derek, please tell me that’s not true.» Derek’s silence was answer enough.
«Oh, but it gets better,» I said, pulling out another document. «Ashley, you’ve been researching guardianship laws, not out of concern for my well-being, but because you found out that if I’m declared incompetent, you and Derek could potentially gain control of my assets as my closest family members.»
Ashley’s face had gone from red to gray. «Mom? I never… That’s not…»
«Save it, dear. I have documented evidence.» I held up my phone. «Amazing what technology can do these days. The investigator gathered quite a comprehensive file on both of you.»
«You had us followed?» Derek’s voice was barely a whisper.
«I documented my children’s behavior toward their elderly mother. Yes, including the conversation where you both discussed how much easier your lives would be if I had a stroke or heart attack.» I set the phone down gently. «That was particularly enlightening.»
Jake sat down heavily in the chair across from me. «I think I’m going to be sick.»
«Don’t worry, sweetheart. The good news is that your inheritance is secure.» I smiled at him. «The bad news for your mother and uncle is that I’ve taken steps to protect myself and my assets from any future manipulation attempts.»
Derek found his voice. «What kind of steps?»
«Well, first, I’ve had myself thoroughly examined by three different doctors and a psychiatrist. All have declared me completely mentally competent. Those reports are on file with my lawyers, along with detailed video testimonies about my decision-making process.» I was rather proud of my thoroughness.
