I picked up the telephone myself and dialed the number. I called once, then five times, then ten times, and finally fifteen times. On the fifteenth attempt, she finally picked up the phone.
“Hello?” Hannah said over the static line.
“Hannah!” I called out into the receiver.
There was a long silence on the other end before she spoke again. “Excuse me, who is calling?” she asked neutrally.
I felt as though someone had slapped me across the face. “I am your father!” I yelled into the phone.
Another heavy silence followed her brief pause. “Oh, what happened?” she asked in a flat tone.
I explained that I wanted to bring everyone together so we could figure out who would help take care of me now that walking was becoming too difficult. Her response was icy and distant.
“I cannot travel right now because I am working, but I will transfer whatever amount I am legally required to contribute to your monthly expenses,” Hannah stated firmly.
“Is that all you have to say to me?” I asked, feeling my anger rise.
“For now, yes, because I have to get back to my lab,” she replied before hanging up the phone.
Furious, I slammed my fist onto the dining table. I turned around to face the two daughters who had received millions of dollars from me.
“Very well, since Hannah wants nothing to do with me, which one of you will take me into your home?” I demanded.
Samantha immediately lowered her gaze toward her plate. “Dad, my son is about to start college, and our place is just too small,” she stammered softly.
Chloe spoke up right away to defend her own refusal. “We are going through a very tough stretch with my husband’s business, and besides, Samantha lives much closer to you,” she offered quickly.
“So you two are just passing me back and forth between yourselves?” I asked, looking at them both.
Neither of them offered an answer. I looked at the table full of untouched food and felt deeply ashamed. The two women to whom I had given my entire fortune were making excuses to avoid taking care of me, while the daughter to whom I gave nothing had at least offered to cover her legal share.
I could not fall asleep at all that night. Before dawn broke, I packed my clothes into a single suitcase because I needed to travel to Atlanta. I wanted to look Hannah in the eye and ask her how she could forget her own father’s voice, but I had no idea that I would be the one completely broken by what I was about to discover.
