Nephew I Funded Sued Me

Synopsis

When my nephew, Nathan Ross, got into Hawthorne University as the top student in the state, I threw a full-blown celebration and hosted a huge banquet for the whole town. The night before, while I was simmering the stew, I overheard Aunt Eleanor quietly talking to him in the yard. She even brought up some kind of inheritance agreement. My heart went completely cold. That night, I reached under my bed and pulled out a hardbound ledger I'd kept hidden there for ten years, then shoved it into a canvas bag. During the toasts, he pulled out a handwritten agreement. "Aunt Lina, please return my parents' accident settlement, plus ten years of interest, 400 thousand dollars. I won't accept anything less." The entire town erupted in shock. My older brother and his wife died years ago in a drunk driving crash. They never received a single dollar from the accident settlement—and instead left behind a crushing pile of debt. I was the one who sold my city apartment, broke off my engagement, and stayed behind. I juggled three jobs a day and took custom tailoring work on the side, hand-making fine suits just to keep him fed, dressed, and in a good private high school. I looked at my nephew standing there in front of me, then quietly put away the bankbook I had prepared for his college tuition.