Estate matters
1096 Words
Serena’s POV
By the time I reached the conference room, the storm outside had fully settled over the estate.
Rain was hitting the tall windows hard, the glass trembling slightly with each strike. I could barely see outside. Thunder rolled every few minutes across the cliffs near the sea, but nobody in the room reacted to it. It was just there in the background, like noise nobody cared about.
Two men and one woman were already seated at the far end of the long polished table.
All of them wore dark suits.
All of them had briefcases in front of them.
Lawyers.
The moment I walked in, the room went quiet.
I hated that.
I always hated that pause when people stopped talking because I entered the room. It usually meant I was the subject of whatever they had been discussing.
Valentina was sitting at the head of the table. Adrian was beside her. Neither of them looked surprised to see me.
Actually, they looked prepared.
Like this meeting had already started without me.
“Serena,” Adrian said. “Sit down.”
I didn’t like his tone.
Not because it was rude, but because it was controlled. Careful.
People only spoke like that when they were about to say something they knew would not go well.
Slowly, I sat down at the table.
One of the lawyers opened a folder in front of him.
Paperwork again.
There was always paperwork in this family. Always something written down. Always something signed.
“Mrs. Ashford,” the older lawyer said, adjusting his glasses, “thank you for coming.”
I didn’t respond.
“What is this about?”
They looked at each other before answering. Nobody wanted to speak first.
Valentina spoke eventually.
“There are matters regarding Lucien’s estate that must be addressed.”
My stomach tightened immediately.
Estate.
I hated that word.
Estate made everything feel finished. Like there was no more room for questions after it.
The lawyer continued.
“As you know, the Ashford family has traditions that go back many generations.”
I frowned.
“No, actually, I don’t know that.”
Adrian looked at me but didn’t say anything.
The lawyer continued anyway, like I hadn’t spoken.
“When an Ashford heir dies without children, a formal inheritance process begins.”
The room felt colder after that sentence.
I looked around the table slowly.
Nobody looked shocked.
Nobody looked confused.
Nobody looked uncomfortable.
That should have warned me, but it didn’t fully register yet.
The lawyer opened another document.
“The assets belonging to Lucien Ashford will be redistributed according to family agreements established over a century ago.”
I stared at him for a few seconds.
“Already?”
Adrian answered quickly.
“This is standard procedure.”
“Three months.”
I said it before I could stop myself.
“Lucien has been gone for three months, and you’re already doing this?”
No one answered.
That silence said everything more clearly than words.
Three months was enough for them.
Not enough for me.
Not even close.
But enough for business.
I felt anger rise slowly beneath my skin.
“What exactly is being redistributed?”
The lawyer looked down at the file again.
“Properties, company shares, financial holdings, and personal assets.”
I almost laughed, but I didn’t.
It sounded like a list, not a person.
Like Lucien was just items written down somewhere.
The lawyer kept speaking, listing things in detail, but I wasn’t fully listening anymore.
My eyes drifted toward the window again.
Rain.
Still heavy outside.
For a second, I thought about Lucien. Not in a dramatic way. Just randomly, the way I used to expect him to walk into a room late without explanation.
Then the lawyer said something that pulled me back immediately.
“…and naturally, the widow is included under the traditional inheritance provisions.”
My head snapped up.
“What?”
The lawyer stopped speaking.
The room went quiet again.
“What did you just say?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Even Adrian looked annoyed now. Not surprised. Just irritated, like this was wasting time.
“The widow is included,” the lawyer repeated.
I stared at him.
“You keep saying that. What does it mean exactly?”
Still no answer right away.
The lawyer cleared his throat.
“In earlier versions of the agreement, widows were included in inheritance structures tied to marriage contracts.”
I shook my head slightly.
“No. That doesn’t make sense.”
He continued anyway.
“It is outdated, but it remains part of the legal documents governing the family agreements.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“This is wrong. It has to be wrong.”
Nobody responded.
Valentina finally spoke.
“It is part of the agreement.”
I looked at her directly now.
“So you’re actually doing this?”
No reaction at all.
Not even a shift in her expression.
That made it worse.
I pushed my chair back and stood up.
The sound was sharp in the room.
“No.”
Adrian sighed, as if I was being difficult.
“Serena, sit down.”
“No.”
My voice was louder now.
“I am not part of any inheritance. I am not a thing you can assign anywhere.”
Silence again.
That same silence.
I looked around the table.
They were all just sitting there like this was normal.
Like I was the one reacting too much.
“Say something,” I said.
No one did.
Valentina spoke calmly again.
“Sit down, Serena.”
I looked at her for a long moment.
And something clicked properly in my head.
They were not discussing this.
They were informing me.
It was already decided.
I stepped back from the table.
“I’m not agreeing to this.”
Nobody stopped me.
Nobody even tried.
I turned and walked out of the room.
Outside, the air felt colder than before.
I kept walking until I was completely outside the building.
Rain had started again, but I didn’t stop.
My hands were shaking, but I kept them still anyway.
Everything they said kept repeating in my head.
Estate.
Inheritance.
Widow.
As if I wasn’t a person in their eyes.
Just something written on paper.
Something transferable.
Something that could be moved around.
I got into my car and sat there for a while without starting it.
I didn’t know where to go.
I just knew I couldn’t stay there.
After a while, I started the car and drove away from the estate.
- Writer
