My Stepmother Threatened to Keep My Father’s Inheritance Unless I Buy My Stepsister a House — Story of the Day

To me, he had always been more than just “Dad.” It was just the two of us after my Mom passed. He sat at the edge of my bed when I buried my face in the pillow.

He always said it so calmly. He used to bring me books from the library.

“I found another story for you. Should we read it together?”

I nodded and reached my hands out to him. He stroked my hair and whispered,

I believed every word.

But after that summer when Lydia came along, everything changed.

“Raymond, I want us to be a family,” she said back then. “I’ll be like a second Mom to Hannah.”

I looked her straight in the eyes and I believed her.

And Chloe, her daughter, hid behind my back and squeaked in that tiny voice,

I promised myself to believe it too. Raymond wrapped his arms around the three of us. His eyes shone with hope.

But over time Lydia took control of everything.

After the wedding, she walked through the house with keys to every room tucked in her pocket. My stepsister Chloe wandered around.

“Hannah, why do you need so many books? You’ll never make money from them.”

When I left for college, Dad often called me, whispering into the phone when Lydia was asleep.Continue reading…