♡ TL: Khadija SK
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Naturally, Jin-ah signed the documents presented by the lawyer.
There was no reason to refuse.
Just by signing, a substantial sum of £400,000 would soon come in, with an additional £2,000 per month.
If the third clause had been to manage the old mansion, even with its strange name, she might have refused.
That eerie mansion was enormous, and repairing it would require not just £400,000 but £4 million.
But to leave it as it is…
Preventing anyone from entering wasn’t a difficult task, as it was already an isolated place.
The nearby village had only a few dozen residents, most of whom were planning to leave soon, turning it into a disappearing village.
The road to the mansion was a dirt road filled with weeds, almost unrecognizable as a road if you didn’t look closely.
And there were hardly any tourist attractions nearby. It was said that even the grass wasn’t growing enough for the sheep to graze.
“Once a week, our company will send someone to inspect the mansion from a distance. As you’ll see in the detailed clauses, if the mansion’s roof collapses completely, there will be no need to restrict others from entering.”
It was truly a favorable condition.
If the mansion collapsed on its own, she would still receive £2,000 per month for life.
For the first time, Jin-ah felt reassured by the presence of her grandmother.
Before the paperwork was even complete, Emily learned about the inheritance.
“No way! There was an inheritance to be received? Declan never mentioned a word about it to me! And what about me? I’m his wife, shouldn’t I have something too?”
Emily fired off accusations at Jin-ah like a madwoman before seeming to regain her composure and fell silent.
Then, expressing her concern, she said she would look into it further and took the lawyer’s contact information.
She went into the room to make a call, but thanks to the speakerphone, Jin-ah also heard the conversation between Emily and the lawyer.
“I am Declan’s wife. I am also Jin-ah’s stepmother. So, I believe I have some rights regarding Mrs. Troll’s estate!”
—Unfortunately no, madam.
The lawyer replied without the slightest hint of regret.
—Mrs. Troll did not allocate anything to individuals not directly related to the Troll’s family by blood. So, the rights belong solely to miss Jean-Antoine. If you have any objections to this trust arrangement, you may consult another lawyer and file a lawsuit.
It was a tone filled with an arrogance that said: Go ahead and try it.
Emily hung up, saying she would contact them again.
After that, for several weeks, Emily was hardly at home.
It seemed like she was constantly visiting law firms in London.
But there was no satisfactory income, so Emily eventually called the lawyer again.
“So, when can our Jin-ah receive that money?”
The money arrived on the day all the procedures were completed.
£400,000.
While not an enormous sum like a lottery win, it was enough to start a business.
“This is really a stroke of luck. I am rooting for your future.”
After the money was deposited, Emily became exceptionally kind.
She caressed Jin-ah’s cheek and raised a glass together.
They drank good wine and ate good meat.
When enjoying such good food after a long time, their spirits were lifted.
At that moment, the phone rang.
[Sent by Korean woman: Jin-ah, have you recently received a large sum of money?]
Tsk.
Word travels all the way to Korea.
Jin-ah frowned as she took a sip of wine.
[Sent by Korean woman: Return it. Don’t accept it. It’s ill-gotten money.]
Nonsense.
She almost blurted it out loud, but she was sipping wine.
The Korean woman sent messages two or three times a week.
Jin-ah read them all but didn’t reply individually. She only responded with short answers like “Why?” or “So what?” on days when she was tired and exhausted.
It seemed like she wanted some comfort for her tiredness.
Just sending that seemed to make her happy more than when she replied with long messages.
Even though the Korean woman’s words were written in English, there were many words that Jin-ah couldn’t understand.
All those words from that ridiculous Asian shamanism.
That dog-like thing that made her mother abandon her husband and daughter to start a store.
Jin-ah switched her phone to silent mode and threw it into the corner of the sofa.
Even as Emily cheerfully chatted away beside her, her mood didn’t improve.
***
Jin-ah used her inheritance to start a catering service company.
At first, it seemed sluggish, but luckily, a famous influencer recommended it on social media, and reservations started pouring in.
She hastily hired staff, but it was too much to handle the increased workload.
That’s when Emily spoke up.
〈I want to work with you too. The money issues are quite a sensitive matter, so it’s uncomfortable to hire someone you don’t know, right? Besides, I worked in the accounting department before I got married with your father, remember?〉
Did she?
Since Jin-ah had never seen Emily work after marrying her father, she couldn’t be sure.
After a moment of hesitation, Jin-ah had no choice but to entrust the company’s work to Emily.
With the previous employee responsible for accounting causing attendance issues and making various mistakes, a new person had to be found.
Emily’s claim about her career wasn’t a lie; she handled the work quite well.
〈Don’t worry about anything and focus on work. Whatever annoys you, this mom will take care of it all.〉
〈Mom believes in you. Look, the sales are getting better and better. It’s even featured in a magazine again. You’re really a genius.〉
Emily always spoke affectionately to the tired Jina.
It was what Jin-ah wanted to hear.
Appreciation.
The business flourished, and its scale grew.
Before she knew it, Emily was carrying expensive bags and her clothes had changed.
And then…
“Say hello, Jin-ah. This is the guy I’m dating these days.”
Emily introduced a man named Tom Baker, a name that seemed too much like a pseudonym.
Soon after, Tom moved into the house where they lived.
At night, sounds of passionate moans and creaking came from upstairs.
Jin-ah had no objection to her stepmother’s love affair. But she couldn’t warm up to the strange man who occasionally gave her unsettling looks while lying down and watching TV every day.
Jin-ah became busier with work again.
She rented a studio in London.
It cost a lot of money, but now that the business was in a stable position, she could handle it.
Emily strongly opposed the decision, just like when Jin-ah used to go out.
But Jin-ah had no choice but to leave Emily behind when the situation of the company worsened.
The problem arose six months after Emily met Tom.
A call came from the office.
Emily hadn’t shown up for work, and the clients were flooding with inquiries about payments.
After rushing to the office, Jin-ah found out.
There wasn’t a penny left in the account.
The money she had inherited and the income she had earned had all disappeared.
But that wasn’t all.
Emily had taken out several loans in the company’s name.
Recently, due to the somewhat known reputation of the catering industry, banks had lent a considerable amount of money.
But Jin-ah was unaware of all this.
And now, at this moment…
Jina sat crouched on the stairs of her house and dialed Emily’s number again.
Beep… Beep…
The signal tone that had already been heard hundreds of times continued.
She kept calling until the battery of her phone ran out, but Emily didn’t answer.
Jin-ah’s body, buried in her knees, trembled.
‘The person who was supposed to be my stepmother is leaving me again. Am I a trash or what?’
she tried to force a smile mixed with self-pity., but tears began to leave marks on the floor.
***
Within a few days, everything Jin-ah had built over the years came crashing down.
Enormous financial debts piled up on Jin-ah’s shoulders.
With all the employees laid off, Jin-ah sat dumbfounded in the chaotic office.
She didn’t know where to start cleaning up, let alone muster the courage to do so.
She reluctantly rose from her seat and checked the piled-up mail, but her expression grew even darker as she realized their contents.
They were all from banks.
Even without opening them, she knew their contents.
“It’s ironic how other things take months, but the debt reminders are sent out so quickly.”
Grumbling at the bank, Jin-ah sorted through the mail.
Her head spun as she read the amounts on the envelopes, but she couldn’t just avoid it.
With trembling hands, Jin-ah picked up the pen and started adding up the numbers written down.
£821,250.
That’s the total amount she owed.”
Tears threatened to come again, but she bit her lip and held them back.
‘It’s not the end of the world, right? There’s still the money from the trust.’
Of course, that money would have to be used to pay off as much debt as possible, leaving next to nothing behind.
The future looked bleak.
‘Would I be able to pay off all this debt before I die?’
Jin-ah’s eyes were about to well up again when suddenly her phone, tucked away in her pocket, started ringing loudly.
Startled by the sound, Jin-ah hurriedly took out her phone.
Another call from the bank?
Or perhaps from one of the places Emily borrowed money from, especially those with low standards?
When an unknown number appeared, her heart raced.
Should I answer it?
In the moment of hesitation, the call ended.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Jin-ah felt her heart rate slow down.
But then, the phone vibrated again, this time with a long beep indicating a text message.
Thinking it must be from someone urgent, Jin-ah swallowed a sigh and checked the message.
[Are you the owner of the Kno-Dearg Manor? We have some inquiries regarding the manor.]
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