More than an inheritance.

More than an inheritance

“ I am sorry that we have to meet in these circumstances,

Your uncle spoke of you to me often, He was very proud of you.

As his dearest friend and lawyer, I thought we would have crossed paths before this.”

“ Yes I am sorry too. I had hoped to come back and spend time with him, instead of just the phone calls, But as you know time just seem to go by so fast, that before you know it , another year has gone. I just thought I had more time with him, I did not even know he was sick.”

“ No He did not want you to know. Anyway shall we get down to business. The terms of the will are very straight forward. He has left everything to you, as his only living relative.. He wanted you to have this safety deposit box also. Here is the key”.

“ Shall I open it now? .”

“Yes it has to be done in my presence, I have to witness it.”

“ Oh ok. .”.

Samantha Reynolds took the key from Gerald Whittaker her uncles friend and lawyer, and pulled the box closer to herself, She inserted the key and opened the box, wondering what could be inside. there was a little black book, two bank books, And about ten bundles of money. She gasped and looked at the lawyer.

He said , “ according to what it says here, there should be twenty thousand dollars in cash. The bank books are where the rest is. “

“ you mean there is more? “

“ Your uncle was a very wealthy man Samantha, he invested wisely. He has left you what is in this box, plus his house at the Hamptons, and of course his Business, do you know if you will continue with it.?”

“ As this is the first time I am hearing about it,I would have to think about it, it is something I could make work with my own career, but it would mean moving location,I need to think about it.”

“ Your in interior design if I remember correctly, is that so? “.

“ Yes “

“ Yes I could see how that would work, with Real Estate.”

“ I just need you to sign these papers then it is all yours. Do you have any questions. “

“ Did you see uncle Matthew before he died,?.”

“ No I am sorry to say , I did not. I was away, out of state when it happened, but I was told it was very peaceful.”

“ Thank you for telling me that.”

Samantha picked up the little black book, and opened it. It had names and dates written inside, but she had no idea what they meant, She said.

“ Do you happen to know what this means, there are a lot of names here, and numbers.”

She showed the book to Gerald Whittaker, but he just shook his head, I am afraid not. But it must be important to be put away in this safety box. maybe you will find the answer in his papers when you go through them, if you need any advice or help please feel free to call upon me, if I can be of assistance, I would very much like to help.

Samantha got up and shook his hand ,it was warm and firm, a strong grip. She wondered, how he became such good friends with her uncle, there was at least thirty years of a difference, He would be about thirty five to her twenty eight years. He was tall , broad shoulders and looked as if he worked out. he had dark brown hair and incredible blue eyes the colour of the ocean.and a knock out smile. He would do well in the movies, she thought.

She blushed when she realised he was talking and she hadn’t heard the question.Too busy thinking about him, She felt even more embarrassed when he said, I have grown very fond of my hands I would like it back, he said with a smile.

“ Oh gosh I am sorry, I was miles away. “

“ I noticed , penny for them ?

“ Oh they are worth far much more than that she said.”

“ well you have everything in this file, the keys to both the house ,and the business, There is a letter in there from me to the bank, instructing them that you are now the sole owner of your uncles account too. How long do you think you will be staying?.

“I am not sure. It depends how long it will take me to go through my uncles things, then I have some heavy decisions to make. And then there is this, I don’t even know we’re to start, As you said, I may find something in his papers, to tell me, about this little mysterious black book. “

Are you going over to the house now ?

“ Yes I thought I would get settled in. Although we are in different states I can actually complete the work I was doing from here. I had everything purchased for my latest client. I can organise the dressing of their property from here. I have some good people working with me. I don’t have to rush back. “

“That’s good to know, i will let you get settled, and if you will allow me ,I would like to take you to dinner, this week, I was thinking you might want to hear some more up to date news about Matthew.”

“ I would like that, thank You.”

“ Shall we say Tuesday, how does that work for you ? “

“ That’s super,”

“ Good I will pick you up at 7 “

“ I will be ready, I’ll say bye for now.”

“ Yes bye see you then “.

Samantha made her way to the car, she had to drop off and get some groceries, before she went to her uncles. It had been some time since she was at his home In the Hamptons, but she remembered there was a super market, with fresh produce, and hoped it was still there.

It was a thirty minute drive, she smiled when she arrived the market was still there. She filled up the car with her purchases , she felt hungry and realised she hadn’t eaten all day. Looking at here watch she saw that it was already four in the afternoon, no wonder she was hungry. At least the house was just ten minutes away, and she would be able to eat soon. As houses go it was a modest house, considering the houses in the area, but it still had four bedrooms, and four bathrooms, it was 2,800 sq ft. There was a swimming pool , and tennis court. houses in the area were prime real estate and worth millions.

She loved the feel of the house, it had a wonderful sense of comfort and warmth, being an interior designer herself, she knew this had been done.by a professional , everything flowed beautifully. cream sofas, yellows and blues through out the rooms, and like Samatha a great collection of Native American art works. She put away all her groceries, put the kettle on and made some tea, she was not a coffee drinker, or Much of alcohol either. It had been a long day, as she was up at six and flew in from California she was now tired, and not in the mood to cook. She had. Bought some wonderful french bread, and some amazing Swiss cheese, that would do, with some fruit, she even treated herself to some pecan pie, her favourite. It was turning cold so she put on the wood burner, and for the first time that day, she felt herself unwind. Her mind went back to Gerald Whittaker, she was curious about him, what was the story there. Maybe she would find out on Tuesday..After Samantha had eaten she made her way through the house to pick a room, it would.probably take a while before she felt the house was her own, she just wished she had seen more of her uncle, Samantha had lost her parents when she was in her teens, and she came and stayed with her uncle for a few years. He was the one who put her through Art school ,and helped her to establish herself once she had qualified. She just wished she had shown more appreciation and now it was too late. Samantha decided to take another room and not the master, which had been her uncles, she got fresh sheets and made the bed up. Feeling tired she went to bed, She would go through the paper work tomorrow.

Samantha woke up around 7 in the morning.The sun was shining through the window, it really was a lovely house, and an super location. She stretched, then got up and showered,

Putting on some casual joggers, and a T shirt, she had her breakfast, orange juice green tea, and some English muffins. Feeling rested and revitalised, she went Into her uncles office, she sat down at his desk and pulled out the drawers. To see.if there would be anything to shed any light on this little black book. She looked in the safety. Box again saw there were sets of keys, they were all marked then she noticed one of the keys ,was for a safe in the house.

Reading the instructions left in the letter that accompanied everything, She located the secret safe behind a beautiful painting, actually of the house. she inserted the key and opened the safe. There were some pieces of jewellery, and some files, and photos.

Opening the files, she was surprised. By what she saw, and once again thought what a wonderful man he truly had been. She took out the little black book, and checked they were the same names and dates. Reading the files things became much clearer. They belonged to people her uncle had been helping and sponsoring in under developed countries, the photographs were of the people he had helped, and the dates were the dates he sent money for their upkeep, every few months. There was a letter in one of the files addressed to her, She read it.

My dear Samantha, if you are reading this, then I am no longer walking on Gods good earth. I am sorry to leave you like this my dear, I just want you to know that I am very proud of you, and all you have accomplished. You are the only family I have ever had, and you are the daughter I always longed for. You will see in the little black book I left you, it has names and dates, I did not want it to go missing as I would like you to do something for me. And I did not want anyone else to know, I don’t like to brag about my giving. As you will see from the files these are photographs of people I have been helping. I would like that to be continued if you would, they are poor souls, These people have been born with certain disfigurements, and They are not in a position to pay for Treatment, I have helped them out over the years. you will see in the file marked operation Smile, the name of the Doctor, doctor Preston ,you will need to deal with him, I have made provision for this to carry on, I hope you will do this small matter for me. Don’t be sad for me honey, I have had a good life. You will have met Gerald Whittaker, by now, he is a good man, I was hoping you two would meet, Let him guide you and help you as he has helped me over the years, He is very good at giving advice He helped me with investments as well. Your loving Uncle. Matthew.

Well she thought ,I will be able to tell Gerald I solved the mystery when I see him on Tuesday. She was looking forward to seeing him again.

Lorem Ipsum