When Dawn’s father passes away, she loses everything—her home, her family, and the sister who never truly cared for her. Abondoned with nothing but her belongings and an old watch, she thinks it’s the finale. But her father had prepared for everything. And hidden in his final gift is a secret that will alter everything… even who truly wins in the end
I’ve always known that Charlotte, my sister, didn’t give a damn about me. However, I never imagined that two weeks after our father’s passing, she would throw me out.
It had simply been Dad, Charlotte, and me for as long as I could remember.
Alright… Dad and I, basically.
At 35, Charlotte had never truly fit in with the family. She never called Dad’s house her home, even though she lived there. She was out all the time. It it going to parties, hanging out with pals, or, as she constantly said, chasing the next “big thing.”
“Dawn, I’m meant for more,” she would say. “I was meant to have a larger life. Not a little life in which nobody even knows who I am. You might receive it one day.
She only came to our house when she needed something, which was usually when she didn’t have much money. She regarded our house like a crash pad.
Personally, nevertheless… I had never experienced anything outside of those walls until I was seventeen. I had been Dad’s shadow, helping him with repairs, making supper when he got home from work, and following him around the house.
He would say to me, “Dawn, home-cooked meals are the best.” “Always make something for yourself, no matter how exhausted you are.”
“Are instant noodles considered?” I asked him once.
I just recall his laughter and the way he stared at me during that chat.
I often wondered as a child if Charlotte was angry with me. When I was born, she was already eighteen. With her entire life ahead of her, she is a legal adult. And I was merely the infant that followed.
Mom didn’t even bother to be around for me because I was the surprise. However, Dad? He loved me.
He would exclaim, “Dawn, you were the dawn of a new beginning, my love.” “I welcomed you with all of my heart—you were the biggest surprise of my life.”
It could be a contributing factor. Perhaps that explains Charlotte’s behavior.
She had already started to distance herself by the time I was old enough to get to know her well. She didn’t truly think of me as a sister. More akin to a nuisance in her life. A child appearing in an unwelcome place.
She never played with me or read me stories. She hardly looked up from her phone when Dad took us out for ice cream.
But still, I thought maybe—just maybe—she cared.
That she’d be there when it mattered.
But I was very wrong.
And then Dad passed away. And everything in my life fell apart.
Two weeks after the funeral, we sat in the lawyer’s office. Charlotte was well-dressed, but she barely looked sad. If anything, she looked bored. It seemed like this was all just a waste of time to her. She stared at her nails while we waited for Dad’s will to be read.
I sat stiffly beside her, hands clenched in my lap. I didn’t know how to feel or what to think, except that I was drowning in grief.
The lawyer cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry, ladies,” he said. “I had to take that call. Now, let’s get back to business.”
Charlotte finally looked up, acknowledging him at last.
“The house goes to Charlotte,” he said.
I wasn’t going to argue… but why?
Why would my father do this to me?
“And for you,” the lawyer turned to me, “your father left this.”
He handed me a small box. I knew what was inside even before I opened it.
It was old, scraped, and barely worked. But for as long as I could remember, I had seen it on my father’s wrist.
I sipped the lump in my throat.
Charlotte mocked.
“Seriously? His watch?” she laughed. “God, even dead, Dad still has favorites.”
I neglected her. My fingers traced the worn leather strap of the watch. It smelled like him. I didn’t care about the house. I didn’t care about the belongings. I just wanted my dad back.
How was I expected to go to college without him?
For the next few days, we kept living under the same roof. We barely spoke. I went to school. I worked my shift at the café after class. Then I came home.
Because without it… I’d drown in grief.
Then, one night, I came home from my shift at the café and found all my things loaded by the front door—including my guitar.
Charlotte was standing in the hallway with her arms crossed.
“All done!” she said happily. “This is where our paths split, Dawn. I need you to go.”
“What?” I said.
“You heard me, little sis,” she said.
“This house is mine. You heard the lawyer. And I’m done babysitting you.”
I could barely breathe. It felt like all the organs in my body were slowly shutting down.
“Charlotte,” I said. “I have nowhere to go.”
“Not my problem!” she said. “You’ll have to believe it out yourself.”
I felt my eyes burning, but I rejected to cry in front of her.
“Are you really doing this? To me?” I muttered, trying to hold back the tears.
She smiled with satisfaction.
“Maybe you should’ve been nicer to me growing up, little sis,” she said.
“Then maybe I’d feel bad about this.”
I gathered the phone with trembling hands and called our lawyer. When he answered, everything overflowed.
“Dawn!” he said, sounding amazed. “What can I do for you?”
“Charlotte threw me out of the house!” I said. “What do I do?”
There was a pause. And then… he laughed.
“I can’t believe it!” he said.
“Everything’s happening just as your father expected. Come to my office tomorrow. I have something for you.”
What could he possibly have for me?
“I’ll book you a motel for the night,” he said. “Or a boarding house. Give me ten minutes, I’ll send you a car and the address.”
I sat on the porch and waited for his message.
When the car arrived, I got in and watched as the driver took me to a small, sweet bed and breakfast.
“Here you go, miss,” he said.
How had I gotten to this point? How had everything decayed so quickly?
I was unloading my pajamas when the owner appeared at the door.
“Dawn?” she asked.
“Matthew asked me to bring you some dinner. I’ve got mac and cheese and a salad.”
I couldn’t consider how lucky I was with the lawyer. I didn’t know him well, but at least he was looking out for me.
I barely slept that night.
The next morning, I dragged myself into Matthew’s office, exhausted and numb.
“Sit down, sweetheart,” he said. “You’re going to want to be sitting for this.”
“Your father was a smart man, Dawn,” he said.
“He knew Charlotte would probably kick you out the moment she got control of the house.”
“He knew?” I swallowed hard.
“That’s why he had me draw this up,” he said.
Matthew opened the folder, sharing a stack of papers.
“Seven years ago, your father inherited a large sum of money—nearly two million dollars. It came from a distant relative who had no children, but your dad cared for her when she needed help.”
“Yeah, he never told either of you. But I’m sure he had his reasons. Now, here’s the catch, Dawn. Your father split the money between you and Charlotte.”
“She gets a share too?” I asked.
“Yes, Dawn. But there’s a condition. Charlotte has to share the house with you—equally.”
I sat up straighter. Suddenly, it felt like there was a way out of this mess.
“If your sister rejects, she gets absolutely nothing.”
He must’ve seen the surprise on my face because he laughed.
“There’s more,” he continued. “Your father left you this.”
He slid a letter across the table. My hands shook as I opened it.
It was my dad’s handwriting.
I know Charlotte, sweetheart. I know what she’ll do. But you’re smarter than her. You always have been. The money is in a safety deposit box. Use it wisely, my daughter.
I love you more than anything.
I cried at the bank account details, but I froze.
“I don’t know the code to the safety deposit box,” I muttered.
“The watch,” he said simply.
I took off Dad’s watch and turned it over. On the back were tiny scratches. Four digits, faint but visible.
“Your dad was a genius, Dawn.”
Charlotte had the house… but also all the debt. And she had just threw out the one person who could’ve saved her from losing everything.
A few days later, I was still at the bed and breakfast when Charlotte called me.
“Hello?” I answered sweetly.
“You knew, didn’t you?” she said.
“Knew what?” I asked.
“The house,” she spat. “The lawyer just called me. There are debts. A lot. Like thousands of dollars. If they’re not paid, the house will be taken, Dawn. And you…” she let out a shaky breath.
“You have the money, don’t you?”
“Maybe I do…” I said. “But we don’t exactly have a great history, do we? You threw me out.”
“You have to help me!” she finally said.
“I would have helped you, Charlotte,” I said. “If you’d been kinder to me growing up, sis. Maybe then I’d feel bad.
“Something small will be perfect,” he said.
“You’ve got a few months before college, Dawn. No need to tie yourself to a big house. An apartment’s best. You’ll be eighteen soon, and then you can do whatever you want. For now, center on school.”
“Thank you for helping me,” I said.
“I’d be lost without you.”
“Dawn, your father talked to me about you, and how hard your sister made life for you. Especially after your mother left the family. I promised him I’d take care of you.”
A few weeks later, I lived in my little studio apartment in an artsy part of the city. It was close to school and the café, and I was happy.
I don’t know what occured to Charlotte, but one afternoon I passed by our old house and saw a SOLD sign on the front lawn.
It wasn’t my home without my dad.
