When the will was read, Rachel Bennett already expected disappointment. She was the family’s black sheep—a divorced waitress, a college dropout, and, in her relatives’ eyes, someone who had failed. Still, nothing could prepare her for the sting of her grandfather’s final words.
“To my granddaughter, Rachel,” the lawyer read aloud, “I leave one dollar.”
Laughter rippled around the room. A single commemorative coin, her grandfather’s initials etched faintly on the edge, was passed across the table. Rachel accepted it with trembling fingers, humiliated.
The lawyer, Graham Pierce, gave her a fleeting look and murmured, “For now.” In the moment, those words meant nothing. All Rachel felt was rejection.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. She was already drowning in a custody battle with her ex-husband, Drew. He had the stable job, the family home, and every advantage. She had long shifts at a diner, a cramped apartment, and little else. When the judge awarded primary custody to Drew, leaving Rachel with weekends and one dinner a week, she felt broken.
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