My Ex-Husband Left Me His Entire Estate, Leaving His Widow and Newborn with Nothing — Should I Give It Back?

My Ex-husband Passed His Entire Estate on to Me, Leaving His Widow and Newborn Child with Nothing — Should I Hand It Over?

Rachel’s ex-husband left her everything, including his valuable vintage automobile, assets, and home. The catch is that, for a reason that shocked everyone, he abandoned his widow and newborn kid. If you were her, how would you respond? Should I keep it or give it away?

If the man who broke your heart abandoned you, how would you respond? He left his wife and newborn child with nothing, and by everything I mean his home, his stocks, and even his valuable car. Would you accept it? Or would you be consumed by guilt?

My initial thought was to chuckle when the solicitor called to inform me that I had inherited my ex-husband Todd’s whole estate. It was more of a “has hell frozen over?” kind of laugh than a happy one.

Todd reportedly left me his suburban house, all of his investments, and Pearl, his priceless antique car that no one was permitted to touch. Todd was the same man who earlier claimed he couldn’t pay child support.

The solicitor’s voice faltered, “Miss Rachel?” “Are you still there?”

“WAS THIS SOME KIND OF MISTAKE?” My fingers shaking against the phone, I muttered. “Todd wouldn’t…”

“There isn’t a mistake, I promise, ma’am. Your ex-husband’s desires were rather clear.

I was shocked by what I heard. Todd and I had created a life together for fifteen years. We had a house with a porch swing, three children, and what I believed to be a strong marriage. Then he abruptly told me that he was “tired of everything.” Interpretation? His 25-year-old assistant, Angela, was the object of his affair, and he was reportedly “helping rebuild her credit.”

That talk seems like it happened yesterday. We were seated in our kitchen, the same space where we had taught our children to bake cookies, where we had enjoyed countless meals, and where we had performed a midnight slow dance.

He had said, “I just need some space, Rachel,” without looking into my eyes. “Everything feels so… heavy.”

“Heavy?” I had broken my voice and echoed. “What do you mean?”

He said, “Nothing!” but there was something strange about the way he said it.

One morning, the combined credit card bill for “Todd and Angela” appeared in our mailbox. That’s how I learned. I held up the envelope to him, my hands trembling.

His face went white as he stumbled, “She’s just a friend,”. “She needed help with her credit —”

“Stop lying!” Tears were flowing down my face as I yelled. “Simply stop! Tell me the truth, Todd, for once in your life!”

“All right. I can no longer do this. I’d like to take a vacation. He muttered, “From everything,” and the words went farther than any blade could.

In less than a week, I filed for divorce. For the benefit of our children, we were able to maintain our civility despite the difficulty. We stayed out of one other’s way for the most part after he married Angela a year later. To be honest, I didn’t care about their life and didn’t know much about it. All I knew was that I didn’t want anything to do with any of them, and Angela had the man who had broken me.

That’s why the solicitor’s phone call came as a huge shock to me.

The man cleared his throat and said, “Miss Rachel,” “You are the sole beneficiary of your late husband’s estate.”

Uncertain if I had misheard him, I gazed at the wall. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, ma’am. The car, the stocks, the house—all of it is in your name.

“The car?” I raised my voice. “You’re telling me Todd left me Pearl?”

“Yes.”

“But that car…” I suppressed a sob. “That vehicle was his child. On our anniversary, he wouldn’t even let me drive it.

“I understand this is a lot to process,” he replied. “Would you like me to give you some time?”

With my head racing, I hung up. The man who had broken my heart, Todd, had somehow chosen to leave me all he owned, leaving Angela and their child with nothing. How? And why?

I wasn’t ready for what happened next, and I was haunted.

Contrary to what I would have thought, I did not first meet Angela in a courtroom. I had it at my door.

Hersing, “You’ve got some nerve, Rachel,”

She was there when I turned. Angela. with a baby in a stroller, sound asleep.

My question was, “Excuse me?”

With her face reddened, Angela took a step forward. “You cunning sorceress! You believe you can rob us of everything?

I looked out my front window, where my daughter Katie was standing motionless, and said, “Lower your voice.” “My children are inside.”

“Oh, now you care about children?” Angela laughed almost hysterically. How is MY child doing? And what about his future? If you hadn’t deceived Todd, he wouldn’t have done this! I’ll take this to court if you don’t give me what’s ours.

“Tricked him?” There was no humor about it, but I laughed. “Until this morning, Angela, I was unaware that Todd had left me anything. I had no idea that he had a will.

She yelled, “Oh, please,” “You think I’m going to think this wasn’t planned? His wife is me. You believe it’s reasonable for you to keep everything after I just given birth to his son? Rachel, how can you live with yourself? You are depriving my child of his inheritance.

Her remarks were a slap in the face. I was unable to answer. Because I did feel bad in my heart. The infant was so pure and tiny. How could Todd abandon his kid in poverty?

“Mom?” I heard Katie’s voice behind me. “Is everything okay?”

When Angela’s gaze shifted to my kid, she briefly displayed a look of embarrassment. But it was gone in an instant.

“Your mother,” she yelled, “is trying to steal everything your father left us.”

I yelled, “Get off my property,” in a furious tone. “How dare you try to turn my child against me?”

Angela snarled, “I don’t have to turn anyone against you,” her words. “You’re doing a fine job of that yourself.”

When I eventually said, “I don’t have anything to say to you,” “If you have a problem, take it to court.”

Spit out, “Oh, I will,” and pivoted on her heel. “And you won’t succeed, Rachel, believe me. I will ensure that everyone is aware of your true character.”

With my heart racing, I watched her go. Nor was I certain that I would prevail.

I gave Todd’s lawyer a call the next morning.

“Miss Rachel,” he said in a cool, collected tone, “There’s a reason Todd left you the estate. He wrote me a letter outlining everything.

“A letter? When did he write that, exactly?

Three days before to his death. He came to my office with the express purpose of leaving this note and changing his will.

“Third days? He was aware that he was dying.

“He had been given a week by the physicians. His goal was to put things right.

“Right?” I gave a sour laugh. “Nothing about this is right.”

“Would you like me to read the letter?”

I closed my eyes and recalled when I had last seen Todd. At Katie’s school play, that is. He had appeared worn out, but I had thought it was only tension. Did he know back then? Was this a secret he was keeping?

“Yes,” I muttered. “Please read it.”

After a brief silence, he started:

“Rachel,

I’m leaving if you’re reading this. I want you to know why I did this, even though I know it’s probably shocking. I had my share of issues with Angela. I don’t think it will make a difference if the child she is carrying is even mine. I don’t want my hard-earned money to go to someone who didn’t deserve it, and I don’t trust her.

However, you gave me fifteen years of your life. Our children were reared by you. Even though I didn’t deserve it, you stood with me. I’m going to make it right this way. Although I am aware that I cannot change the past, I hope that this will benefit you and the children in the future.

There’s no way Angela can fool her way into this one. Legally, everything is sound. I apologize for everything I caused you to go through.

— Todd.

There was silence in the queue.

The lawyer said, “Are you okay, Miss Rachel?”

“Did he…” I had trouble coming up with the correct words. Was there anything else he said? When did he deliver the letter?

The lawyer paused. “He… he requested me to share something with you. “Tell Rachel that I should never have let her go,” he said. She was the best thing that ever happened to me, so tell her.

I let forth a sob from my throat. “Damn you, Todd,” I said to myself. “Damn you for saying that now.”

“Miss Rachel?”

With trepidation, I inhaled. “I’m all right. I appreciate you reading that.

I wasn’t okay, though. Despite being a bad spouse, Todd had ultimately made an effort to put things right. But I had to cope with a major issue: Angela.

She wasn’t going to give up easily. She filed a lawsuit to challenge the will, arguing that it infringed upon both her and her child’s rights. I was forced to defend myself. I wasn’t going to let Angela take away my children’s rightful portion of Todd’s wealth.

Angela performed her role flawlessly on the first day of the court appearance. The baby cuddled in her arms as tears ran down her cheeks.

“Your Honor,” her attorney said, “my client is a bereaved widow with a baby on the way.” The ex-wife of the dead is attempting to deprive them of their legitimate inheritance.

I became aware of things while I got ready for court. The infant in Angela’s arms didn’t resemble our children or Todd at all. The first hint was his wavy red hair. All three of our children, including Todd, had dark hair that was poker straight. Unbelievably, Angela also had dark hair.

She cornered me in the restroom during recess.

Hersing, “You think you’re so clever,” “Playing the wronged ex-wife.”

In the mirror, I looked her in the eyes. “At least I’m not playing pretend with someone else’s baby.”

Her face turned pale. “What did you say?”

“You heard me.”

Is it a coincidence? Perhaps. But when I gazed at her infant in the stroller, I had a suspicion.

The judge ordered a DNA test when I brought Todd’s letter to the court. Angela was angry, but there was nothing she could do.

In the courtroom, she cried out, “This is harassment!” “You’re trying to humiliate me!”

“Control yourself, Miss,” the judge replied sharply, “or I’ll hold you in contempt.”

The results arrived a few weeks later. Todd didn’t have the baby.

As the judge read the results, there was silence in the courtroom. For the first time, Angela’s face turned pale and she was at a loss for words.

Todd was aware. He must have been aware. Perhaps he had left everything to me for that reason.

I ended up keeping the estate. I donated the proceeds from the sale of Todd’s cherished automobile, Pearl, to the children’s college fund. I made sure they would always be safe by dividing the remainder of the inheritance equally among them.

One evening, Katie discovered me gazing at an old picture of Todd and me from a more carefree time.

“Mom?” she whispered. “Are you okay?”

I drew her in. “Your dad wasn’t flawless, you know. He committed numerous errors. Ultimately, though, he made an effort to act morally.

Whispering, “I miss him sometimes,” she said. “Is that weird?”

I kissed her forehead and murmured, “No, sweetheart,” “That’s not weird at all.”

What about Angela? She was working on her next “project” to “rebuild credit” with someone else when I last heard from her. Even if Todd wasn’t flawless, he had the last say and had given me and the children hope for a better future.

It’s strange how karma can work things out sometimes, isn’t it?