Mary, Anne, and Claire had to leave their home after one final fight with their young stepmother, and they became homeless. But a year later, a policeman picked them up, and a lawyer was waiting for them at the station with the most shocking news.
Mary’s mother died when she was 16 years old, and it was the most challenging time of her life. As the eldest of three sisters, she watched out for Anne,14, and Claire,11. Their father was practically useless at dealing with them, and Mary thought he was grieving too, but the truth was revealed only a few months after their mother died.
Their father, Anton, brought his new fiancée to live with them. Her name was Jane, and she was only 21 years old. In contrast, their father was two decades older than her. Mary tried to reason with him, telling him he couldn’t marry a woman who was closer to her age than his. But he didn’t listen, and they got married.
However, the worst was yet to come because Jane acted like the nicest person in front of Anton, but once he was out of sight, she treated Mary and her sisters horribly. She embodied every evil stepmother in a fairytale, and the sisters couldn’t believe their father had fallen for someone like that.
“Mr. Norton has left the three of you his $4.7 million mansion, and he wants you to move there immediately,” Mr. Samberg revealed.
Still, there was nothing they could do. They had to live with it. But everything became even worse after Mary turned 18.
“It’s time you start paying rent around here and get your sisters off their lazy bottoms to do their chores,” Jane demanded one day, shortly after Mary’s birthday.
“Dad has not talked to me about paying rent! I’m still in high school!” Mary exclaimed to her stepmother.
“Don’t talk back to me or I’ll tell your father you’ve been acting out! In fact, you should be out of the house already. You’re 18! People fend for themselves at that age. But if you keep mouthing off to me, I’ll make sure your father kicks you out!” Jane yelled back.
But she didn’t notice that Anton had just arrived, and Mary felt a tiny glimmer of hope. Her sisters had also exited their rooms to check what all that yelling was about. Perhaps, if her father saw her true colors, he might do something at last.
“I’m not going to pay rent at least until I graduate high school and get a job. Maybe you should start paying rent yourself instead of letting my father pay for everything!” Mary replied, knowing that her words were going to set Jane off.
“WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME, YOU INSOLENT CHILD? HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT? You have to respect me!” Jane screamed, her face red with anger.
Mary waited for her father to do something, but he was just watching the whole scene. So she turned to him. “Dad, aren’t you going to do something?” she asked, and Jane finally realized that Anton had arrived. She took a step back immediately and suddenly started crying.
“Dear! Your daughter just yelled at me and called me a freeloader!” she wailed, her crocodile tears full force.
Mary waited, and she knew her sisters were right there, hoping against hope that their father might finally take their side after months of being subjected to Jane’s awful treatment.
But it didn’t turn out as they hoped. Anton started scolding Mary for disrespecting his wife. “Jane is your stepmother, Mary. You need to do as she says,” he stated, crossing his arms, while Jane kept fake crying.
“Dad, I can’t pay rent. I need to graduate first!” Mary protested.
“If you don’t start paying rent, I’ll kick you out myself,” Anton continued, shocking everyone in the room. Mary’s head almost exploded in surprise, and Anne and Claire couldn’t believe it either.
Mary saw Jane smirk a bit out of the corner of her eye, which was the last straw. “Fine!” she yelled and went to her room.
She packed everything she could in a short amount of time and left their home. She had no idea what she was doing and no money, but she couldn’t live in that house. She stayed with friends for a while, but her sisters soon followed along. They didn’t want to live with Jane either, especially after their dad took her side over such a ridiculous argument.
However, Mary was worried. Anne and Claire were minors. She could get in serious trouble. They stayed at friends’ houses as much as possible until they overstayed their welcome. Eventually, they started looking for help at women’s shelters, which only brought the cops their way.
Anne and Claire were forced to return home by the officers, but they always ran away again. Nothing could keep the three sisters apart, even homelessness. So Mary did her best. Despite her situation, she graduated high school and tried her best for her sisters.
They started living below a highway bridge in their small town in Virginia and tried to get by as best they could.
A year later, Mary was 19, and she was eating dinner with her sisters in their makeshift home under the bridge. Mary worked full-time at a grocery store, so she got discounts on food, which helped them seriously. The cops often looked for her sisters, but they eventually left them alone, seeing as they didn’t listen and often ran away from their home.
But one night, Officer Frick showed up. He was the kindest in the precinct and tried to leave them alone, considering how well Mary tried to take care of them. This time, though, he told all of them to come with him to the station.
This was an odd situation. But when they arrived at the station, they were greeted by a lawyer. “My name is Mr. Samberg, and I’m here to give you something from Mr. Daniel Norton,” the man said.
Mary frowned. “We don’t know any Daniel Norton, sir. This must be a mistake,” she stated, but the lawyer didn’t listen to her concerns.
“Mr. Norton has transferred ownership of his $4.7 million mansion to the three of you, and he wants you to move there immediately,” Mr. Samberg revealed, giving Mary what seemed like the keys to the mansion.
“Sir, this is a mistake. I’m telling you. We don’t know any Mr. Norton,” Mary stated once again, and her sisters nodded, trying to convince the lawyer.
Mr. Samberg took a deep breath. “It’s my understanding that you are Jane’s stepdaughters, correct?”
“Jane?” Anne said in disdain.
“Jane is Mr. Norton’s daughter. He recently heard that Jane’s stepdaughters ran away from their home because of her. He was furious about it. He’s been trying to get Jane to convince you to come back,” Mr. Samberg began to explain.
“How did he find out?” Claire asked.
“Jane convinced her husband to leave everything to her in his will and change the house title to her name. Since I’m the family lawyer, Mr. Norton discovered this situation. He asked Jane about you girls, and she told them about you running away. She also showed no remorse,” Mr. Samberg stated.
“What happened next?” Anne wondered.
“Mr. Norton was not happy and called his contacts at this precinct, who confirmed that they had seen the three of you around. He doesn’t want three girls to be homeless when he has a big mansion to give. So, this is now yours. You can move in immediately. Don’t worry, you won’t have to pay any inheritance fees. Mr. Norton has covered that,” the lawyer finished. “Now, let me drive you to the estate.”
The three sisters were shocked, but Officer Frick nodded, urging them to accept the ride and the mansion. They went with Mr. Samberg to the estate and settled in. Mary was granted legal guardianship of her sisters officially.
Months later, they learned that their father had gone bankrupt, and Mr. Norton refused to help his son-in-law or his daughter out, which meant that Jane and Anton had to sell their house and live in a rented apartment.
Once, Jane tried to come to the mansion, but Mary simply didn’t open the door and called the police. She was escorted away. When Mr. Norton died, the three sisters received the rest of his considerable estate, ensuring they never had to worry about money again.