While I Was Reading My Dad’s Eulogy, My Stepmother Sold His Favorite Car – She Turned Pale After Discovering What Was Hidden Under the Spare Tire

Inside the bag was a thick envelope. I stared at the blocky handwriting, my hands shaking.

Karen reached over, snatching it from me before I could move. She fumbled with the seal, tore it open, and scanned the first page.

Her breath caught. She staggered and dropped the papers. Receipts and a letter fanned out across the pavement.

I bent to pick them up, glancing at the receipt — $15,000 paid to Royal Seas Cruises. My stomach turned. Dad didn’t throw money around.

Inside the bag was a thick envelope.

“Karen, what is this?”

Her voice was raw. “He… he bought us a cruise. For our anniversary. He never said anything.”

Aunt Lucy stepped closer. “Let her read the letter.”

Karen pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, then shoved the page at me. “Read it, Hazel. Please. Out loud.”

I swallowed, finding Dad’s heavy script.

“Karen,

I know you better than you think.

If you’re reading this, it means you finally got rid of the Shelby. I was never perfect. I shut down after Megan died. Yes, we’d been divorced for a long time, but she was the mother of my only child.

“Karen, what is this?”

But I never stopped loving you. I bought us this cruise hoping we’d find each other again.

I know you never understood why I kept that car—it was the only piece of my father I had left.

I was just trying to save us, in my own clumsy way.

If you can’t forgive me, I understand.

All I ever wanted was to make things right.

—Thomas.”

Everyone was silent. Karen covered her face, sobbing.

Aunt Lucy squeezed my arm. “He really did try, Hazel. For both of you.”

“If you can’t forgive me, I understand.”

**

The mechanic, Pete, stood awkwardly with his cap in his hands.

“I’m really sorry, Hazel. My boss says we can undo the sale if you want. Nobody knew about any of this.”

“Nothing’s filed yet,” he added. “Not officially.”

I swallowed hard. Karen looked at the envelope like it was a bomb about to go off.

She wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. “I can’t take it back. Not after what I’ve done. Take the money. Take the cruise. Hazel, please. I can’t… I can’t even look at it.”

She shoved the envelope at Aunt Lucy. “Take it. All of it.”

“Take the cruise. Hazel, please. I can’t… I can’t even look at it.”

Aunt Lucy didn’t touch it.

“It goes into the estate account,” she said. “You don’t get to buy your way out of this.”

“If you want to go, go, Hazel. Or we can —” Karen’s voice faltered. “Maybe you and I could use a reset too. I don’t expect forgiveness. I just can’t be alone right now.”

Aunt Lucy stepped in, her presence a soft anchor. “Not here. Home. Then lawyers.”

I lifted my chin.