How My Privileged Family Turned Against Me And Now Wants My Property

Giving in to my instincts

The encounter with my mother left me feeling strange, almost horrified. She seemed to want to ask me for something, but I couldn't make out what it was. Her stories were harmless and nice, but at the same time unsettling, almost like watching a magic trick. My instinct told me that she was up to something more, that there was an agenda lurking behind her smile. I tried to suppress my suspicions, but I doubted that she really wanted something from me.

A visit that comes as a surprise

A few days later, just as I was retiring, my doorbell rang. There stood Jack, my brother, with a cake in his hand and a big grin on his face. "Hello, brother!" he called out, a little too cheerfully for an unplanned visit. We hadn't spoken for years and his sudden friendliness made me suspicious. He acted as if we were long-lost pals meeting up for a nice chat - a surprise visit from the past that caught me completely unawares.