Mr. Armstrong got tired of his daughters’ refusal to come home and changed his will so his caretaker, Britney, and her four children would receive everything. When his daughters found out, they got angry and wanted to prove that Britney had tricked him. But they discovered something shocking instead.
“Jesus!” Mr. Hector Armstrong said after hanging up the phone. His daughter, Kiara, had just told him another excuse why they couldn’t come to visit him. He lived in Tampa, Florida, and she was in New York. They had not seen each other in ages, and Hector was lonely.
His second daughter, Agatha, was no different, and she lived even farther in California but always came up with similar excuses as her big sister. Hector was tired of it and decided to do something about it.
Britney had four beautiful children who loved Hector. | Source: Shutterstock
After a call to his lawyer, he went out to the kitchen and shared a coffee with his caretaker, Britney. She was a single mother to four children who often came by. They entertained him, asked him stories about his life, and helped their mother out.
“We’re going to find something that proves Britney tricked Dad into changing the will,” Agatha revealed.
Britney was a kind woman who desperately needed money, and Hector had made the tough decision of leaving her and her children everything, including his house, his money, and his late wife’s jewelry. His daughters would be mad when they learned of it, but the older man would be long gone by then.
“That’s impossible!” Kiara yelled at her father’s lawyer when he finished reading the most crucial part of the will. She always thought her father would give her and Agatha everything, but now, Mr. Grinberg had revealed that the caretaker, Britney, would receive everything.
Kiara stared daggers at the strange woman. “YOU TRICKED OUR FATHER INTO GIVING YOU EVERYTHING!” she yelled at her.
“Calm down, Kiki,” Agatha tried to appease her, though she was angry about it too. All they would receive from their father was a dollar bill each. The only thing she ever wanted was her mother’s antique jewelry, and he didn’t even give them that.
Britney looked at both sisters, raising her hands and shaking her head. “I didn’t do anything. I had no idea Mr. Armstrong would do this. I never asked him for anything,” she explained, panicked.
“LIAR!” Kiara screamed.
Mr. Grinberg intervened. “Miss Armstrong, calm down right now! This is my office. Your father was of perfectly sound mind when he changed his will. This decision is final and harassing this woman won’t do any good.”
“I WILL SUE!” Kiara continued amid her hysterics, but Agatha came up with a plan.
“No, she won’t,” she told the room and took her sister outside for a second, begging her to calm down. She came back into Mr. Grinberg’s office and spoke directly to Britney.
“I know that our father’s house is yours, and we won’t do anything that Kiara threatened. But I was wondering if we could go in and pick up a few things. We left some stuff in our old rooms, and there are some photographs I would like to have. Would that be alright?” Agatha requested to Britney, who nodded immediately, agreeing.
“Of course!” she said.
“We’ll meet you there. I promise Kiara will calm down,” Agatha assured, and they all left for their father’s house.
***
During the car ride to Hector’s home, Kiara asked Agatha why she was so calm. “I’m not calm. I’m just not hysterical like you. We’re going to our house to pretend to look for our old memories, but we’re actually going to look for something that would prove Britney tricked Dad into changing the will,” she revealed.
“I see. Clever,” Kiara responded, thinking her little sister was a genius.
They finally arrived, and Britney was already there to greet them.
“I know your mother had some jewelry. You guys can take those. I know they must be valuable,” the caretaker offered.
“Are you sure? Our father left that to you,” Agatha asked, feigning politeness. But she was suspicious of Britney’s attitude.
“Of course. I think your father only wanted to help me out. But this house is more than enough. I won’t have to pay rent anymore, and my four children love this place too,” Britney continued.
“Oh, well. That’s nice,” Agatha said, feeling a little bad now. The woman seemed genuinely kind, and of course, this house was perfect for children.
Kiara interrupted her thoughts and pushed her sister. “Let’s go,” she urged, and they went into their father’s room.
After almost an hour of rummaging through his things, Kiara found a folder. “Look! It has the name of the lawyer on the cover,” she told her sister, who came to her side and looked at the folder too.
Inside, they found several documents. They were drafts of Hector’s original will. “See! He left us everything at one point,” Kiara pointed out.
“Wait, there’s another one,” Agatha said, reaching for a second document. “Jesus, this one says that we get the house, but everything else goes to charity. Why would Dad do that?”
“Here’s the current one,” Kiara continued. “It has everything as Mr. Grinberg said.”
“There’s something else. What is it?” Agatha wondered, pointing at another document inside the folder. Kiara grabbed it and read it. She didn’t speak for a while.
“What’s going on? What does it say?” her little sister urged.
“It’s a notarized letter. Dad said he was disappointed that we never visited or even cared about his wellness. He said that Britney had been like his only family for years, especially after Mom died. He said he hoped we would not push the matter further and let her be. We apparently deserved this,” Kiara explained, subdued.
Agatha took the letter and read it herself. “Why wasn’t this part of the will?”
“I think Dad knew we would try to do this after the will-reading. It seems like insurance for Britney. So she would have proof that he changed the will on purpose,” Kiara continued.
“We should go,” Agatha finally said after.
Her sister nodded, and they placed the folder down. They didn’t bring anything with them except for a family picture that used to be in the hallway. They said a quiet goodbye to Britney, who was confused about their empty-handedness.
They never came to Tampa again, but Britney often saw fresh flowers on Hector’s grave.