Old Mr. Hunt returned to the car, urging his sons and grandsons to freeload off Liberty’s new diner.
They could enjoy meals at Liberty’s place whenever they came to the city. It was not like Liberty could do anything if they refused to pay. They were family after all!
Old Mr. Hunt brought his sons and grandsons to Liberty’s breakfast diner, only to find the place shut.
Seeing that the place was not open for business, he stayed in the car and chided, “Where the hell are these brats? None of them are operating. They might as well give you the business since they’re not up for the work.”
Mike and the others found it odd.
It was normal for Serena’s bookstore not to be open on the weekend, but Liberty was a different story.
Where did the sisters go?
Serena and Liberty had no idea that their money-hungry relatives were looking for them.
They spent over an hour getting to their hometown. The heavy traffic on the road prolonged the journey.
Looking at their parents’ home from afar, Serena and Liberty were lost in nostalgia. They recalled the family of four’s happy times when Scott and Lisa were still around.
Zack brought his security detail along, and so did Mrs. Stone.
Since everybody was keeping an eye out for any dispute, it was the safer option to be surrounded by security.
Not a lot of cars could be parked on the driveway, so some of the vehicles were moved to the town square.
Serena could hear her grandmom’s yelling when she got out of the car.
“Don’t dump it here. This is my grandson’s house. How can you say that the house belongs to those b* tches? Move your car right now and take away the bricks and gravel along with you!”
Serena had made prior arrangements with the truck drivers to move truckloads of bricks, gravel, and sand to her parents’ home.
Now that the truck drivers were here, Old Mrs. Hunt was stopping them from dumping the construction materials in front of her gate.
Old Mrs. Hunt did not hold back on the profanity when she found out Serena was behind this.
Known to have a nasty attitude in town, Old Mrs. Hunt could shout loud enough for the whole neighborhood to hear.
Her daughter-in-law and other grandsons heard the commotion and came to take a stand with Old Mrs.
Hunt.
Old Mrs. Hunt’s voice attracted other nosy neighbors out of their houses. They asked around and approached Serena’s family home, trying to get to the bottom of things.
“Are Serena and Liberty back to redo the house?”
“Mrs. Deli would know. We should ask her.”
“I heard they’re back to rebuild their parents’ house. The girls have found their feet, so they came back to take back the house.”
Serena’s home was built on spacious land, but the land did not come entirely from Old Mr. Hunt. Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt played favorites, and for the least favorite son, they split a measly 400 sq ft to Serena’s father.
Scott and Lisa bought the wasteland from others and switched farmland with neighbors to make up for the land the family owned now.
“Serena is now the wife of the richest man. Why would she want the house? That’s a bit greedy.”
Some people were of the opinion that Serena should not fight for the house.
Someone immediately came to Serena’s defense. “She should fight for the house after what her grandparents did to her and her sister. Why should John get the house for free?”
“I thought John is Scott’s adopted son?”
Scott’s name was only known among the seniors and Scott’s generation. The younger generation would not know who Scott, Serena, or Liberty was.
Well, the Hunts were the main reason for that. They went so far as to stop Serena and her sister from coming back to town. The Hunt family even relocated Scott’s and Lisa’s graves without letting the sisters know. Serena and Liberty could not even visit their parents’ graves even if they wanted to.
The last time Serena came back, the Hunts were not home.
She ended up having a chat with her fellow townspeople.
Mrs. Deli jumped in, “Scott and Lisa never mentioned adopting John when they were alive. The adoption only came about after they died, and the Hunt family kicked Scott and Lisa’s daughters out. The Hunt family is clearly trying to take possession of Scott’s property. Did the adoption papers even go through?”
“Why is John calling Chris Dad if he is Scott’s adopted son? Chris should be his uncle then.”
Everybody was at a loss for words.
They were cognizant that Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt’s favorite golden offspring was their grandson, John because the boy was the most capable of all. Even though John came back once a year to visit the old folks, they doted on their grandson.
Old Mr. and Mrs. Hunt occupied Scott’s house, vacant residential land, and farmland to give to John.
John had a younger brother. Old Mr. Hunt said that he would have Serena’s family home demolished and combined with the empty land next to it to build a villa. That way, John and his brother would not have to fight over a house.
“John has been diligent to visit Scott’s and Lisa’s graves every day. He has done his duty as a son, so he has the right to Scott’s inheritance. Serena and Liberty have married into other families. They have their own families now, so why come back and fight for the inheritance?”
Old Mrs. Hunt was making a huge fuss.
Walking behind the crowd, Serena, Liberty, and their entourage heard Old Mrs. Hunt, and everything became clear to them. There was a reason the Hunts relocated Scott’s and Lisa’s graves without telling the sisters.
It was so John could fulfill his obligation as a “son” and earn the right to inherit their parents’ inheritance.
“Tell me. Doesn’t the inheritance go to the sons? Did your married daughters fight your sons for their shares of the inheritance?”
Old Mrs. Hunt questioned the onlooking townspeople.
The town the Hunt family lived in had a local custom of leaving the family possession to the sons as the sons were the primary carers of their elders. The daughters would only drop in for a visit every so often. Those without sons could have their sons-in-law take their family name, but it was a less favorable move.
Some people would somehow see their nephews as immediate family and rather bequeath the family fortune to their nephews than their daughters.
The jokes were on them as these nephews could not care less when age got the better of the elders. The seniors would still end up in their daughters’ care.
These nephews believed the seniors had daughters who could take care of them.
This was what happened to parents who saw their nephews as family and daughters as outsiders.
Of course, many families blessed with only daughters managed to break free from the feudal system, leaving all inheritance to their daughters. They even sorted out their wills early on to make sure their daughters were covered for life.
Some people were just different.
Old Mrs. Hunt’s rhetorical question silenced some of the families with sons.
“It’s an unwritten rule that the family fortune goes to the sons in this town, and the sons will handle the final days of the parents. I know that, but my parents didn’t have a son. They only had me and my sister. My parents’ inheritance should be passed down to me and my sister.
“Grandmom, can you tell me when my parents adopted a son? Did the adoption go through while they were alive? Can we see the papers?
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.