Rhénee Johnson: Emelda's Sapphire (Book One)

Chapter 1

Dear Rhénee,

By the time you're reading this, I would probably have passed on, my dear. Your mother promised me that she would surely give you this letter after I'm gone.

I would've loved to say to you all that is in this letter in person, but I can't go against your parent's wishes. It would truly hurt them if I had decided to see you in person, hence, I wrote this letter instead.

Time has gone by since I last saw you, my dear. And also your sister, Zoey and your brother,  Ryan. You're obviously grown up now. I heard from your mother that you were in college and by the end of the year you would be writing your exams. I would've liked to wish you all the best, my dear, but by the time you would be reading this.....well, you already know. I know you would do well, my dear. From what I know, you have always been brilliant, just like your father.

I hear Ryan is helping out with the family business with the mining company and is a real hard-worker. I've heard he is doing very well and I feel so proud.

I hear Zoey is in college too, but I preferred she stayed helping out your mother with the fashion business, don't you think? She has always been a fashionista since childhood.  Always playing dress up and applying make-up. I still remember the old days when she used to do that. It's weird that she is taking up a career of her own choice. Looks like things aren't always what they seem.

Coming to you, my dear, what you're about to read might shock you a little, but to me you truly deserve it.

The house in the west side of California, Madison, where I live at the moment now belongs to you. Yes, my dear. I know its shocking that I had left the beautiful house in your name. Probably should have left it in your brother's name but I couldn't have thought of a better person than you, Rhénee. Only you.

Everything in the house also belongs to you, including my lovely paintings too. If you want you could sell the paintings. I wouldn't mind even when I'm dead, you can get good money out of them, that I'm sure.

Also my bank account with all the money belongs to you now. I haven't used so much money in my years so you probably have a huge fortune in your hands. You can contact my lawyer, details about him are at the back of the letter.

Your parents, I'm guessing, wouldn't like the idea of you inheriting the house, but what you do with it is your decision, my dear. It's a gift from me to you.  That's all I could give you, my loving granddaughter.  May you treasure it for all the years to come.

From your loving grandmother,
Emelda.

Rhénee slowly folded the letter back to the way it was before and put it back in the old crumpled brown envelope. She held the envelope a little longer in her hands and as she closed her eyes. She put the envelope close to her nose and sniffed it a little as if her grandmother's scent was still on it.

A year had passed since Rhénee's grandmother passed away, but to Rhénee it felt like yesterday. She had not seen her grandmother ever since she was ten and her parents had stopped her from seeing her grandmother ever again. She never knew why the sudden change in her parents. She wondered if her grandmother had upset them in some way. But no one else got to know the reason why.

Last year in November, the family had received news about Emelda's death. Rhénee, Zoey and Ryan were willingly prepared to go to the funeral. But their parents refused them to. They were going to stay behind in Beverly Hills like locked up children. Rhénee had a flashback of that devastating day:

" Come on dad, we aren't kids anymore," said Ryan, looking straight at his father in the eye.

"Don't tell me you agree to this, mum," Rhénee said, looking at her mother who sat on the white couch across from her husband.