The heir’s revenge

Chapter 1: Unspoken debts Maya’s arms ached as she struggled with her grocery bags and the key to her apartment. Her fingers were red from the weight, and the cold wind had rouged her cheeks. As the door finally clicked, she exhaled and stumbled inside. She breathed a sigh of relief as she dropped the heavy bags on the counter. The warmth of the tiny kitchen didn't comfort her like it used to. Day by day, she was getting exhausted and frustrated with life. She dropped the bags onto the counter and noticed the stack of letters by the door and with it- a thick blue envelope that didn't match the rest. Her heart sank. “How was work?” Her mom's voice came from the kitchen sink, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Same as all the other days” , she said, voice tight. “Got milk. Eggs. Bread. Apples were expensive so I dropped them” “No bread?” her mother asked, glancing over her shoulder. “Too expensive” , Maya replied as she brushed her hair out of her face. “Maybe next week” “We still have one slice left, ” her mom said pulling out the groceries with practiced hands. “One slice, Mom” , Maya said flatly. “Just one” . Silence. “You work too hard. ” her mom said “Well there's nothing I can do about that Mom” , Maya replied, sharper than she meant to. Her mother returned to the sink, scrubbing a plate she had already cleaned. Maya breathed a sigh of relief and sank into the nearest chair, her entire body aching from the day. “I'm sorry things are this way for us dear” , her mother murmured. Maya didn't answer. Her eyes drifted back to the letters. One envelope, the blue one, stood out in particular, and I was drawn to it. “The looks different from the rest, have you checked these?” She asked her mother. It wasn't like the usual utility bills or second warnings. This one was thick and different, and it had no return address. Her mom stiffened, “Why bother, it's probably another bill” “This feels different though” , Maya said, turning it over in her hands. “It's also not addressed like the others. ” She picked it up and tore it open frantically. “What is it?” , her mom asked concerned “It's not a bill” , Maya murmured. She frantically flipped through the pages. Her face grew pale. “This is- is personal… ” Her mom stepped closer, “Let me take a look… ” “It's from a weird address with an unfamiliar name and handwritten” . Maya's mom was puzzled, “Who would handwrite a letter like that?” “I don't know, ” Maya said quietly, pulling one page free and reading aloud: “Your father's sins left wounds that money could never fix. But I'm willing to settle only for a small price. On my terms, of course” . There was no signature. Just two letters at the bottom, J.H. “J.H.?” Her mother looked pale. ”I’ve also never heard of it” , Maya muttered, rereading the note. Her voice dropped. “It almost seems like a threat” . “We don't have anything left for them to take” , her mother's cracked. “We do. ” The room went silent again only the soft hum of the refrigerator filled the space. Her mother leaned against the counter, shoulders sinking. And then- she broke. Her mother's sobs came hard and sudden and were so difficult to see. She sank to the floor, clutching her dress, tears pouring freely. “Haven't they taken enough?” “What more do they want?” “I gave my life to your father. To you. To us. Yet I've been suffering for the last twenty-five years” , Maya's mom laments. Maya froze. “I did my best to give you the best education yet here you are still trying to make ends meet despite all the work and money your father and I spent. The words hit like a stone. I wish your father were here to see how much damage he caused to our lives. I curse the day I met him” . She spat. Maya's mom kept sobbing and laying curses upon her dead father, rocking back and forth, her grief raw and uncontrolled. At this point, Maya didn't respond anymore. There were no words left. She just sat there, letting her thoughts rise in the quiet. Flashes of the past and dreaming of the future. She also went into deep thought, thinking back on when everything went wrong. Of when things started to fall apart. At the moment she realized no one was coming to fix it. Maya sat on the edge of the couch, rereading the letter over and over. Her fingers gripped the letter tightly, wrinkling under the pressure. “I thought this was over” , she whispered. “It should be” , her mom said so fly, wiping her tears. “We don't have anything left, we've given all that we have. ” But Maya didn't answer, still in deep thought. She stared at the page again. Her fingers tightened around the paper. “Who the hell is J.H.?”