Their grandfather’s lawyer had asked them to meet him at the old house.
Wilson and George looked around appreciatively. “This house will be worth quite a bit on the market!” said George.
“Yes,” said Wilson. “Especially if we market it as a potential bed & breakfast!”
But the lawyer shook his head.
“I’m afraid your grandfather has left the house and its contents to the Children’s Association,” he said. “As a shelter for at-risk children.”
“What?” cried Wilson angrily. “What about US?”
“Yes,” said George, “We’re his flesh and blood!
Didn’t he care about our welfare?”
“Stop it!” cried Lesley. “Grandpa did everything he could for us, everything! It’s his house, and it was his right to dispose of it as he wished.”
The lawyer said, “Your grandfather did leave some tokens of his affection,” he said, and he placed an ornate silver pocket watch, a silver chain with an antique cross, and an old dark green umbrella on the table.
Wilson picked up the pocket watch greedily.
“The old man was holding out on us!” he said. “This watch is from the time of the Civil War. It might be worth something!”
“As per your grandfather’s instructions, you will each choose an item according to your age: so George, you choose first, then Wilson, then Lesley,” the lawyer explained.
Wilson frowned crossly as George picked up the pocket watch, then he stepped forward and claimed the silver cross.
“Looks like you get the umbrella, Lesley!” he said.
Lesley picked up the umbrella and touched the heavy wooden handle lovingly. “This was grandpa’s favorite, you know. He said it was the best for a rainy day!”
George laughed cruelly.
“Let’s hope it still works,” he said. “It’s raining now!” Lesley peered outside. It was pouring!
“In that case, this umbrella is just perfect,” Lesley said and walked to the front door. She opened the door and unfurled the umbrella and something fluttered down and stuck in her hair, then something else…
Lesley stared in astonishment as dozens of bills fell out of the folds of the old umbrella. Geoge scoffed.
“So that was the old man’s rainy day fund?”
Lesley picked up a note and gasped. “This is a $1000 bill! I’d never seen one before!”
“What?” Wilson stepped forward and bent to pick up a bill but the lawyer stopped him.
“The umbrella and its contents belong to your sister,” he said coldly. “You and your brother made your choices.”
George was furious. “But there are dozens of $1000 bills!
That’s a lot of money!”
Lesley was looking at the bills closely. “They look brand new as if they’ve just been printed!” she said.
“Your grandfather and your great-grandfather collected those bills for decades, Lesley, up until they were withdrawn from circulation in the late 1960s,” the lawyer said. “These mint-condition bills are collector’s items.
They are each worth between $10,000 and $12,000…”
Lesley was stunned! Her grandfather had left her a valuable legacy after all. With the money from the sale of the bills, she and William paid off their house, bought a new car, and started their own rainy day fund.
Meanwhile, Lesley’s grandfather’s old house became a shelter and helped many sad and lonely children find happiness.
As for Wilson and George, they were outraged and declared that Lesley had cheated them out of their inheritance.
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