The next morning, someone knocked.
I opened the door.
Mrs. Rhode’s lawyer stood there.
He was holding something strange.
An old metal lunchbox.
It was dented.
Scratched.
And looked like it had been used for decades.
I stared at it.
“What is that?”
He smiled.
“Mrs. Rhode left additional instructions.”
He handed it to me.
“Actually, she left you one thing.”
I opened the lunchbox.
Inside was a plain brass key.
And an envelope.
My name was written across the front in Mrs. Rhode’s shaky handwriting.
My hands began to tremble.
I opened it.
The first line read:
“James, you’re probably angry because you think I left you nothing.”
I stopped reading.
The lawyer said nothing.
I continued.
“But believe me—what I prepared for you will change your life.”
Part 9 — The Key
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