I Gave Him Half My Liver, Then He Sold My Father's House novel · Chapter 12 of 24

Chapter 12: What the Letter Cannot Give Him

The inventory says the fish cufflinks left my father's house on 14 March.

Daphne Corr's letter says my father gave them to Gregor as a welcome into the family. The letter is dated 22 November.

Elena Dane stands beside the table while I read the entry again. The cream paper carries my father's initials at the bottom, followed by his narrow corrections in black ink. The date remains the same each time my eyes cross it.

'The cufflinks were removed before the letter existed,' I say.

Elena looks from the inventory to the letter clipped behind it. 'That is what the dates show.'

'The letter uses them as proof of welcome.'

'A gift can be given before it is written about.'

'This one was recorded as removed from the house first.'

Her mouth tightens. 'Yes.'

The records room smells of dust, glue, and the old radiator under the window. Elena has left the cabinet open behind us. Cormac holds the office door from the other side, close enough to hear and far enough to pretend he is not listening.

I keep my finger on the inventory line. Gregor had held up the cufflinks as if they settled the matter. Daphne's letter had made them part of my father's wishes. The inventory gives the story a date before either of them had finished building it.

'The letter is behind the inventory,' Elena says. 'Read the rest.'

I lift the page by its corner. The envelope is attached with a strip of clear tape, and the postmark shows beneath it. Daphne's headed paper has yellowed along the edge.

The letter says my father discussed putting the house into joint names after my marriage. It says the fish cufflinks were given to Gregor as a welcome into the family. It says the arrangement reflected my father's wishes.

It never says the house was transferred.

The house is mine because the will left it to me. Gregor has a letter about intention and a story that depends on nobody checking the dates.

'You want me to come in?' Cormac asks from the doorway.

'No.'

He stays outside. 'That sounded definite.'

'It was.'

Elena turns another page. 'There is no transfer instrument here.'

'There would not be,' I say.

'There may be an exhibit list attached to the original bundle.'

'This is not the original bundle?'

'It is the solicitor's working copy. The court bundle is held separately.'

She taps the top corner of the inventory. A pencil notation sits beside the probate reference, faint from handling but still readable.

PRB 41/ASH/96.

I copy it onto the back of the visitor slip lying beside the folder. The paper is thin and blue, meant for a name and a time. I write each character twice, then check it against the notation.

Elena watches my hand. 'You have it.'

← Chapter 11 · All chapters · Chapter 13 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend