Sarah helped both children inside the air-conditioned living room and gave them fresh apple slices to eat on the rug.
She walked over to the kitchen counter with her cell phone pressed tightly against her warm right ear.
Her fingers trembled as she dialed the ten digits written on the bottom of the folded white paper.
The phone rang three times before a deep, familiar male voice answered on the line.
Richard: Hello Sarah, I am glad you finally made the phone call.
Sarah: Richard, why did you approach my son at his school without talking to me first?
Richard: I was scared you would hang up the phone if you saw my name on your screen.
Sarah leaned her back against the kitchen counter while trying to keep her shaky voice calm and controlled.
Five years ago, Richard had cut off all contact with her family after a bitter argument over an inheritance.
Her late husband Mark had refused to sign over the family business to Richard before his sudden passing.
Sarah: You cannot just drop expensive diamond rings into a five-year-old child's school bag, Richard!
Richard: That ring belonged to Mark's mother, and it was meant for your family all along.
Sarah closed her eyes tightly as memories of her late mother-in-law filled her restless mind.
She remembered seeing that brilliant diamond ring on the old woman's hand during family dinners years ago.
Sarah: Why are you doing this now after all these silent years have gone by?
Richard: I was wrong about the inheritance law, Sarah, and I am trying to make things right today.
Richard explained that his doctor had given him a serious medical diagnosis early last month.
He realized that his massive financial wealth meant nothing if he left his brother's young children with nothing.
He wanted to hand over Mark's share of the family estate trust fund before his health declined further.
Sarah: Is this some kind of legal trick to take my kids away from me?
Richard: No, my divorce lawyer prepared all the settlement papers to transfer the entire estate directly to Toby.
Sarah looked over at her two innocent children playing peacefully with their plastic building blocks in the hallway.
The monthly bills had been piling up on her desk, and her bank account was nearly completely empty.
Sarah: We need to meet in person with a lawyer present before I agree to anything.
Richard: Name the time and place, Sarah, and I will bring the legal papers for you to sign.
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