Evelyn sat on the wet floor, her red dress stained with water.
Her eyes fixed onto the envelope held high in David's hand.
A strange silence settled over the vast mansion living quarters.
David carried Lily carefully over to a soft velvet armchair nearby.
He set the little girl down gently away from all the mess.
David: Stay right here, sweetie, you are totally safe now.
Lily: Are you going to read the paper now, Uncle David?
David: Yes, I am going to read it to everyone in this room.
Richard pushed himself up off the floor while dusting off his suit.
He spat out a breath of air and glared across the wide hall.
Richard: That letter was meant to be burned years ago, David.
David: You knew about its existence this whole time, didn't you?
Richard: Our mother was not in her right mind when she wrote it.
David: She was clearer than anyone else in this greedy family.
David snapped the string tied around the thick yellow paper folder.
He pulled out three folded pages written in faded black ink.
Evelyn scrambled to her feet, trying desperately to smooth her dress.
Evelyn: Stop this humiliation right now before guests leave!
David: The guests deserve to know why you took control of everything.
David unfolded the first page and began to read the handwriting aloud.
His voice echoed clearly off the high plaster walls of the mansion.
David: I leave the family estate and business to my son David.
Several guests began whispering quietly among themselves at the statement.
Evelyn's face turned completely pale as she listened to the words.
David: I leave this because he showed genuine love, not greed.
David turned his eyes up from the page to look at Evelyn.
David: You hid the real will inside that antique ceramic vase.
Evelyn: She changed her mind after that document was signed!
David: There is a notary stamp on the bottom of this page.
Richard: That document has no legal standing in court today!
David: We will let our family lawyer decide that very soon.
David held the paper tightly as he recalled the sad past.
Ten years ago, his mother had passed away quite suddenly.
Evelyn had claimed that no will existed anywhere in the house.
She took total control of the estate and all bank accounts.
She pushed David out of the family business within six months.
David had accepted the decision back then to keep the peace.
He never suspected that a true will was sitting inside the hall.
Lily looked up at David with wide and curious brown eyes.
Lily: Is that letter from my grandmother who passed away?
David: Yes, Lily, it is a message she left for us all.
The truth was finally starting to untangle in front of everyone.