Gemotions

The email sat in Eleanor’s inbox, unread for three days. It was from a lawyer, the subject line a cold, clinical phrase: *Re: Estate of Reginald Hawthorne*. Reginald Hawthorne was her father, a man who had been dead for ten years. She finally opened it, the cursor hovering over the "delete" button. A sudden clench in her stomach, like a fist squeezing, stopped her.

Her breath hitched as she read. A half-sibling. A child she had no knowledge of. The audacity of her father, even in death, to complicate her life. Eleanor slammed her laptop shut, the metallic clang echoing the sudden, tight feeling in her chest. She pushed herself away from the desk, unable to sit still.

She grabbed her keys and walked, not really seeing the lush, manicured gardens she was walking through. How could he, a man who always seemed so…controlled, have done this? Betrayal clawed at her, a burning sensation behind her ribs. She thought of her mother, and a fresh wave of something akin to disgust washed over her.