Gemotions

The parchment crackled in Elias’s trembling hands. He had always been the black sheep, the one who disappointed. Now, here he was, staring at his father's final act of… well, *something*. His sister, Clara, across the mahogany table, glowed with an unnerving calm. "Go on," she prompted, her voice like ice.

The lawyer announced Clara’s inheritance: a controlling interest in the family business, a vast fortune, and a portfolio of prime real estate. Elias felt a searing heat bloom in his chest, a wildfire of resentment. He closed his eyes, then opened them again to see the lawyer pointing to his portion, a tiny box with a single, antique key, and a letter.

He read the letter later, in the echoing silence of his apartment. It said the key unlocked a hidden safe, one containing a single, handwritten manuscript, his father's unpublished and unfinished memoirs. He squeezed the letter, crumpling it almost beyond recognition. Clara would regret this.