I never expected to inherit anything from my father—especially not a house I didn’t know existed. When the notary mentioned it, I assumed it was a clerical error. That is, until I went to see it… and found a woman already living there. What she told me shook everything I believed about my father—and our family.
Rain was coming down hard as I pulled my coat tighter and hurried toward the notary’s office.
My father had passed away recently. The loss felt surreal. He’d always been my constant, though in recent years he had seemed burdened by secrets and debts I couldn’t make sense of.
The home we shared was about to be taken by the bank, and I was exhausted from trying to stop it. As I approached the office, I braced myself—what more could I possibly lose?
The building was dimly lit, filled with the musty scent of aging paper and worn carpet. Inside, an older man gestured for me to sit and began sorting through a pile of legal documents.
As he read the will aloud, I found it hard to focus. Memories of my father played in my head like a montage—his jokes, his warmth, and the feeling that he had always been honest with me.
Then the notary said something that snapped me out of my thoughts:
“There’s another house.”
My head jerked up.
“Sorry—what did you say?”
He nodded, calmly sliding a page across the desk. “Your father owned a second property. Not the one you lived in. A different one.”
I stared at the page in disbelief.
Another house? He’d never once mentioned it. How could he keep something like that from me?
The address didn’t ring any bells. My hands trembled slightly as I took the document. Was this some final act of redemption? Or a sign there were things about him I never really knew?
One thing was certain—I needed to go there. I had to see it for myself.
The following morning, I took the day off work and drove out to the address. The road was long and lined with trees dressed in autumn gold. They swayed gently, as if guarding secrets of their own.
But when I pulled up to the house, a chill ran through me. Something about it… felt off. And I hadn’t even stepped inside yet.