Brida and Thomas were called to their late dad’s lawyer’s office for his final will reading. Brida didn’t expect to be a part of it, while Thomas was excited to hear what the lawyer had to say.
Growing up, Brida and Thomas couldn’t have been more opposite. While Thomas valued money and material possessions greatly, Brida was more into charity work and volunteering for different organizations.
They bonded with their father, Bart, differently. Thomas would tag along in his father’s business meetings and invite him to dinner in their city’s most exclusive restaurants. Meanwhile, Brida would often ask her dad to do enjoyable things together, like watching movies or jogging at the park.
However, what Brida and Bart enjoyed doing together the most was eating at hole-in-the-wall restaurants around the city. This was their way of supporting local businesses and ensuring they had loyal customers that would frequent their shops.
Brida inherited a key from her late dad, which showed her real inheritance. | Source: Shutterstock
When Bart fell ill, Brida was heartbroken. She considered her dad her greatest friend and confidant, and she didn’t know what she would do once her favorite eating buddy and adviser passed on.
Meanwhile, Bart’s illness also drew Thomas closer to him. He would often reassure his father that his business would continue to run smoothly and that he didn’t need to stress about anything as Thomas had it covered.
During the last few months of his life, Bart started to see the difference between his two children. He realized the business he worked hard to put up would crumble if he left it in Thomas’ greedy hands, so he decided to sell his younger brother a majority of his shares.
The decision didn’t sit well with Thomas, and he questioned why his father did that instead of handing it all to him. “I don’t want you and Brida fighting over my wealth. Money is just money,” Bart replied.
Bart hoped to instill in his son a sense of value for family and relationships other than money before his death. | Source: Pexels
“I’ve been by your side in all your business meetings while Brida was out in whatever charity gala she had on her schedule. She knows nothing about business,” Thomas retorted.
“Thomas, your shares in the company are enough to get you and your family by for generations to come should you take care of it properly. Brida wants no part of the family business, but I converted her shares towards forming the company’s very own foundation,” Bart explained.
Thinking this was already her father’s will, Brida couldn’t help but shed a tear. “Thank you, father. I will not let you down, and we will change many lives in your name, thanks to the foundation,” she told him.
Bart smiled weakly, nodding. “I know you will, sweetheart.”
Brida was afraid of losing her father. | Source: Pexels
Meanwhile, Thomas rolled his eyes and left the room. He expected the entire company to go to him and not anybody else. Since then, he refused to speak to his father and only showed up in his room again during his final moments.
When Bart passed away, Brida and Thomas were called into the lawyer’s office shortly after the funeral. Brida was still weeping while Thomas was ready to hear what else his father had left him.
The lawyer went straight to business when they got there. Reading the words of their father, he said: “Our family estate and its contents, save for those belonging to Brida, will go to Thomas and his family. To Brida, I leave you this envelope containing a golden key.”
Upon hearing the will, Thomas scoffed. “A key? To what? The attic?” he laughed.
After signing the papers transferring ownership of their mansion to himself, Thomas bid his sister goodbye. “We were never close anyway. I guess this is the last we’ll see of each other unless it’s for the company. Feel free to move your things out by the end of the week,” he told Brida before walking away.
Brida and Thomas were called into their late dad’s lawyer’s office for his will reading. | Source: Pexels
Meanwhile, Brida stayed behind to read the contents of the envelope her father had left her. Inside was a handwritten note that read:
“To my dear Brida,
I know how much you didn’t like living in our house, simply because it was too big for just the three of us. I’m glad I raised you to be the empathetic, empowered, and kind-hearted woman you are. I know you can take care of yourself simply because you’ve shown me how independent you’ve been in the past couple of years.
Should you ever wish to move out of your apartment, I hope what you find in the place I left you can cover whatever expenses you might have. No matter how much money I earned in my lifetime, what I valued most was the love and kindness we shared.
Below, I wrote down the coordinates of where you’ll find what I’ve left you. I know you’ll use it wisely. All my love, Dad.”
Brida continued to mourn the loss of her dad. | Source: Pexels
Brida couldn’t believe that her father had left her with something else other than the foundation. She followed the coordinates her father had written down and found herself in front of an old tree. There was an arrow engraved on it and it was pointing down where a shovel lay. She began to dig.
She found a buried chest not long after, and she used the key her father gave her to open it. Staring back at her from inside was a wide collection of gold and diamond jewelry, which she realized were from her great-grandmother. In the chest were also dozens of gold bars.
“Dad,” she said in disbelief. She never imagined ever receiving this much from her dad or anyone. She asked her best friend to meet her at the tree, and together they wheeled the chest to the car and took it to her apartment.
“What are you going to do with all of this?” her friend, Anna, asked.
“The jewels, I’m going to divide between myself and my cousins. That way, we all have a piece of our great-grandmother with us. I’m going to sell the gold bars, of course,” she shared. “I’ll invest a chunk of the money in my foundation,” Brida revealed.
Brida decided to share the jewelry owned by her great-grandmother with her cousins. | Source: Pexels
After reaching out to her cousins from around the country, they all showed appreciation to Brida for sharing her jewelry collection. This reconnected them and they’ve been in frequent contact since then.
Meanwhile, the 1-kilo gold bars were purchased by a private bank for $65,000 each. As she had 24 gold bars in the chest, she received over 1.5 million dollars after the sale.
She decided to donate half of the money to her foundation, where she served children and the elderly. She invested the rest of the money in real estate, purchasing three commercial buildings to put up schools and orphanages around their small state.
What can we learn from this story?
- Life shouldn’t be all about money and material possessions. Brida differed from Thomas in a way that she never let money affect the way she treated family and even strangers. She lived simply and chose to share her blessings with those who had less in life.
- Being generous can lead to even more blessings. Brida was so happy that her father had left her with a foundation that helped those around her. However, when she found out that she had even more inheritance from her dad, she shared this with her cousins and even with strangers, which led her to rebuild and start connections with many people around her.
