My Late Mom Left Me a Trust Fund, but My Dad Took Money from It for His Stepdaughter — I Finally Retaliated

My mom was my everything, and when cancer took her, she left me memories and a lifeline — a trust fund meant for my future. When my dad greedily started using it for his stepdaughter, it felt like he was erasing Mom’s memory piece by piece. I couldn’t let him take what was left of her or me.

There’s this thing about losing someone you love — you carry the weight of it forever, even if it doesn’t show. I lost my mom to breast cancer when I was ten. One day, she was there, brushing my hair and humming to some old rock song, and the next, she was gone. Just like that.

A grieving young woman mourning before a loved one's grave | Source: Freepik

A grieving young woman mourning before a loved one’s grave | Source: Freepik

I remember our last conversation like it was yesterday. She was sitting on her hospital bed, her fingers weakly running through my hair.

“Promise me something, baby girl,” she whispered.

“Anything, Mom,” I said, trying to hold back my tears.

“Promise me you’ll never let anyone dim your light. You’re so special, Iris. So incredibly special.”

A sad woman sitting on a hospital bed | Source: Pexels

A sad woman sitting on a hospital bed | Source: Pexels

She didn’t leave me with much — just a few photos, the smell of her favorite vanilla perfume lingering on her scarves, and a trust fund she set up for me before she passed.

“This is for Iris,” she’d told my dad and my grandparents. “For her education and her future. Promise me she’ll always have it.”

They promised. My dad promised too. But promises don’t mean much when someone’s not around to hold you to them.

A trust agreement on a table | Source: Midjourney

A trust agreement on a table | Source: Midjourney

My dad remarried two years later. His new wife, Marianne, came with her own baggage: a twelve-year-old daughter named Emily.

I didn’t mind at first. Mom was gone, and I thought maybe this could be a new chapter.

But I quickly learned how things would work in our house: Emily first, Marianne second, Dad somewhere in the mix, and me? Not even in the picture!

An annoyed girl | Source: Pexels

An annoyed girl | Source: Pexels

It started small. Once, our fridge and shower broke at the same time. Dad took money from the trust fund without my permission to fix them.

“I’ll pay it back,” he said like it was no big deal. A week later, he bought Emily a MacBook for her birthday. On mine? A $100 gift card.

It wasn’t the money — it was the message.

Over the years, he kept dipping into the fund for car repairs, home renovations, and things that had nothing to do with me. “It’s just temporary,” he’d always say. But the withdrawals kept piling up, and the “temporary” excuses wore thin.

A frustrated teenage girl | Source: Pexels

A frustrated teenage girl | Source: Pexels

By the time I got to college, I didn’t need the money for tuition because of my scholarship. That didn’t stop him from finding new ways to use it, though. Every time I brought it up, he brushed me off. “Don’t stress, Iris. It’s safe.”

Safe. Right.

“You understand, don’t you, Iris?” That’s what he’d always say when something I needed got pushed aside for Emily. New clothes for her pageant? Sure. My vacation? Maybe next year. It stung, but I swallowed it down.

But the swallowing got harder.

I’ll never forget the day I realized how much of Mom’s trust fund was gone. It was late one night during my final year of college. I’d overheard Emily talking to her friends about how “Daddy” was covering the cost of her new car. My stomach twisted as I thought about the fund.

A delighted woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney

A delighted woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney

“Can you believe it?” Emily squealed through the thin walls. “A brand new BMW! Daddy said I deserve it for making it to nationals!”

My hands trembled as I sat at my desk, memories of Mom’s words echoing in my head: “This is for Iris. For her future.”

It had been years since I’d seen the account. My dad had told me not to “stress over it.” But now, something felt off, and I decided to check it.

I logged into the account, and my heart sank. The numbers didn’t make sense. Thousands were missing. Pageant fees. A water heater. Emily’s car. Every withdrawal was like a punch in the gut.

A woman using a laptop | Source: Pexels

A woman using a laptop | Source: Pexels

By the time I closed my laptop, my hands were shaking. This wasn’t just money. It was Mom’s legacy. She’d trusted Dad to protect it, and he’d drained it like it was his personal wallet.

I called my grandma the next morning.

“Sweetheart,” she said after I told her everything. “This has gone on long enough. You have to stand up to him.”

“I can’t breathe, Grandma,” I sobbed into the phone. “It feels like he’s erasing Mom piece by piece. Like he’s erasing ME.”

“Oh, my sweet girl,” she whispered. “Your mother would be furious right now. She fought so hard to make sure you’d be taken care of.”

“I know,” I cried, my throat tight. “I trusted when he said he’d put the money back. But he’s only been draining Mom’s hard-earned money.”

A worried older woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney

A worried older woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney

“Your mother was a fighter,” Grandma added. “And so are you. It’s time to show them that.”

“I will when the right time comes,” I said, my heart heavy as I hung up.

It all came to a head a week later. Graduation was around the corner, and I was finally ready to celebrate after four years of sleepless nights and busted printer deadlines. I called Dad and told him I was graduating on December 20th. I could hear the pause on the other end of the line, long enough for my stomach to drop.

A woman calling her father | Source: Midjourney

A woman calling her father | Source: Midjourney

“Oh, December 20th?” he said finally. “That’s when Emily’s pageant is. We’ve already made plans.”

“You’re missing my graduation for a pageant?”

“Ah, c’mon, Iris. Graduation’s not a big deal. You’ll have more of those. But this pageant? It’s her chance to shine.”

I didn’t even realize I was gripping my phone so hard until my fingers started to hurt. “You’re kidding, right?”

A woman engrossed in a phonecall | Source: Pexels

A woman engrossed in a phonecall | Source: Pexels

I heard Marianne chime in, her tone dripping with condescension from the background. “Don’t be selfish, Iris. Graduations happen all the time. Emily’s pageant is once-in-a-lifetime.”

“Selfish?” I spat. “Dad, this isn’t about being selfish. This is about you choosing Emily over me. Again.”

“That’s not fair —” he protested.

“Not fair? You want to talk about fair? When was the last time you chose me? When was the last time you even saw me?”

A man on a phonecall | Source: Midjourney

A man on a phonecall | Source: Midjourney

“Of course I see you, Iris.”

“No, you DON’T!” The words burst out of me like a dam breaking. “You see Emily. You see her pageants and her dance recitals and her EVERYTHING. But me? I’m just the ghost in the corner. Mom’s leftover that you don’t know what to do with.”

“Iris, that’s enough!”

“No, it’s not enough! It’s never been enough!” I cried, years of hurt pouring out. “Do you know what Mom’s last words to me were? She made me promise not to let anyone dim my light. But you’ve been doing exactly that for years, Dad. Years!”

A furious woman talking on the phone | Source: Pexels

A furious woman talking on the phone | Source: Pexels

He sighed like I was being unreasonable. “We’ll celebrate when we’re back. I promise.”

The word “promise” hit me like a slap. “Your promises don’t mean anything anymore,” I whispered. “They haven’t since Mom died.”

I hung up without saying goodbye. My grandparents, at least, showed up for my graduation. Seeing their proud faces in the crowd made the day feel a little less lonely. They hugged me so tightly afterward, reminding me that someone still cared. I was happy, but I had one last thing to do.

A heartbroken woman | Source: Midjourney

A heartbroken woman | Source: Midjourney

The next day, I walked into Dad’s office with the account statements in hand. My stomach was doing backflips, but I couldn’t let that stop me.

“We need to talk,” I said, shutting the door behind me and dropping the papers on his desk.

Dad looked up from his computer, frowning. “What’s this?”

“The trust fund statement. Mom’s trust fund. The one you’ve been draining for years.”

His face paled, but he tried to play it off. “Iris, come on. Everything I’ve spent was for the family. You’ve never needed it. You had a scholarship.”

“That money wasn’t for the family,” I cut in. “It was for ME. For MY future. And you spent it on Emily. Don’t even try to deny it. The statements don’t lie.”

A stack of documents on a table | Source: Midjourney

A stack of documents on a table | Source: Midjourney

“You don’t understand what it’s like,” he stood up, his voice rising. “Being a father, trying to blend two families —”

“And you don’t understand what it’s like watching your father erase every trace of your mother!” I shot back. “That money was the last thing she could give me, and you treated it like your personal ATM!”

He leaned back in his chair, his jaw tightening. “I did what I had to do.”

“No,” I said, standing my ground. “You did what was convenient for you. And now you’re going to pay it back. Every penny.”

His laugh was bitter. “And if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll sue you.”

A woman crossing her arms and pointing her finger at someone | Source: Pexels

A woman crossing her arms and pointing her finger at someone | Source: Pexels

The room went silent. For the first time in my life, I saw real fear in his eyes.

“You wouldn’t,” he said finally.

“Mom always said I had her backbone,” I replied. “Maybe it’s time you remembered that.”

The fallout was as messy as I expected. My stepmom and stepsister called me, yelling through the phone. “How could you do this, Iris?” Marianne’s voice was shrill like I had personally burned their house down.

“Do what?” I said, gripping my phone tighter. “Stand up for myself? Demand the respect I’ve never gotten from you people?”

An annoyed senior woman | Source: Midjourney

An annoyed senior woman | Source: Midjourney

“Don’t make this about you,” she snapped. “You’re punishing us because we couldn’t be in two places at once. You know how much Emily’s pageant meant to her!”

“And my graduation didn’t mean anything to you,” I fired back. “I’ve had enough, Marianne. I’m done.”

“How dare you? After everything we’ve done for you?”

“Done for me?” I laughed hollowly. “What exactly have you done except try to replace everything about Mom?”

A young woman laughing | Source: Midjourney

A young woman laughing | Source: Midjourney

“I tried to be a mother to you!”

“No,” I snapped. “You tried to erase my mother. There’s a difference.”

She called me a “selfish” brat. But I didn’t back down.

Under the U.S. law, she and Dad had no leg to stand on. My grandparents helped me draft the legal documents, and by the time I handed them over, Dad knew he was out of options.

A month later, the money was back in my account. They’d taken out loans to do it, but that wasn’t my problem. I moved out the next week and settled into my grandparents’ house temporarily. It felt good to be somewhere warm and safe for once.

A woman with a suitcase and bag | Source: Pexels

A woman with a suitcase and bag | Source: Pexels

“You’ve always been stronger than you think, Iris,” Grandma said one night as we sat on the porch. She wrapped her cardigan around my shoulders, and it smelled like Mom’s vanilla perfume.

“I didn’t feel strong,” I admitted, staring at the stars. “I just felt angry.”

“Sometimes, anger is what we need to get moving,” she said with a smile. “Your mother… she knew this might happen, you know. That’s why she made us promise to watch over you.”

“She did?”

“Oh yes. She said, ‘My Iris might bend, but she’ll never break.’ She knew exactly who you were, sweetheart.”

I handed her a check the next day, a portion of the repaid money. She tried to refuse it, but I insisted. “You and Grandpa have done more for me than anyone else ever has. Please. Let me do this.”

A woman holding a check | Source: Midjourney

A woman holding a check | Source: Midjourney

She hugged me so tightly that I thought I might break. “We’re so proud of you. And your mom… oh, she would be over the moon.”

With the rest of the money, I enrolled in grad school and got my own apartment. It wasn’t fancy, but it was mine.

One night, as I unpacked some boxes, I came across an old photo of Mom and me. She was holding me in her lap, her smile soft and warm.

“I did it, Mom,” I whispered, running my fingers over the photo. “I kept my promise. I didn’t let them dim my light.”

A woman holding an old photograph | Source: Midjourney

A woman holding an old photograph | Source: Midjourney

My phone buzzed with a message from Dad. But I didn’t open it.

Instead, I texted Grandma: “I think I’m finally free.”

Her reply was immediate: “You are, sweetheart. You are. Your mother is probably dancing in heaven right now.”

I set the phone aside and smiled, my eyes misty. For the first time in years, I felt like I was finally living for me. Living how Mom had always wanted me to… bright and unafraid.

An emotional young woman | Source: Midjourney

An emotional young woman | Source: Midjourney

This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.

BRAD PITT’S STUNNING RED CARPET DEBUT WITH INES DE RAMON LEAVES VENICE BUZZING

Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon made a stylish red carpet debut at an event. While some online users have expressed happiness for the duo, others have posted comments riddled with lookalike theories and speculations.

Stealing the spotlight at the Venice International Film Festival, Hollywood couple Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon made a striking red carpet debut in Italy on September 1. Their appearance has prompted a wave of mixed reactions from netizens who have seen the online photos of the duo, with some comparing Ines to a certain someone from Brad’s past.

For the prestigious event, which they attended for the premiere of Brad’s new movie *Wolfs*, Ines and Brad went for a black-and-white theme. Ines wore a chic, white, one-shoulder bodycon dress. She matched it with metallic heels and elegant, dangling earrings.

Ines’ beau looked dashing in an all-black outfit, including a double-breasted tuxedo jacket, flared pants, and a black t-shirt.

Throughout the evening, Brad and Ines shared several romantic moments, embracing each other and exchanging affectionate glances.

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At one point, the evening turned into a bit of a double date when Brad and Ines were joined by the famous couple George and Amal Clooney. George was also at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of “Wolfs,” in which he co-stars with Brad.

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Amal looked stunning in a ruffled, sleeveless, pastel-yellow gown, while George matched her elegance in a classic black tuxedo.

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Brad also posed for solo photos with his co-stars Amy Ryan and Austin Abrams. Reports mention that Brad and his girlfriend, Ines, attended the Venice Film Festival just two days after Brad’s ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, was seen at the event for the premiere of her new movie, *Maria*.

When photos of Brad Pitt and Ines de Ramon at the Venice Film Festival appeared online, social media users quickly shared their thoughts. Many were excited to see them together, praising Ines for her beauty and wishing the couple well.

One fan on Facebook wrote, “Good for him. He moved on. So should [you’s],” while another commented, “She is extremely beautiful.” Someone else wished Brad luck, saying, “Good Luck Brad Pitt. Hopefully she’s a Keeper.”

However, not everyone was positive. Some people criticized the relationship or questioned if it was just for publicity. One user wrote, “Shame on him,” and another asked, “Wonder if this is just for publicity?”

Additionally, some users compared Ines to famous women from Brad’s past. One person even noted, “She resembles [Meghan Markle].”

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One Facebook user commented, “This young woman is not as pretty as Jennifer Aniston. I hope he learned something after his past relationships, but men usually don’t. Good luck to his new girlfriend. The only good thing is that he is older.”

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Adding to the comparisons, one observer wrote, “LMAO can see Angelina’s face.” Another commented, “Jolie is much more attractive,” and someone else added, “She isn’t Jolie.”

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While some people may be disappointed that Ines doesn’t look like Brad’s ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, it’s clear that Brad is very happy with her. According to a source, the couple had a wonderful summer before the Venice Film Festival.

The source mentioned that Brad has been working in Europe, which allowed them to spend a lot of time together there. The source said, “Brad is serious about Ines. He’s really happy and enjoys being with her. She’s easygoing, and everyone likes her.”

Brad and Ines first became linked in November 2022 when they were seen at a Bono concert. Soon after, they were also spotted at the premiere and afterparty for Brad’s movie “Babylon” in Los Angeles.

By July 2023, a source close to Brad and Ines said their relationship was still “going very strong.” The same source shared how much they enjoy being together.

In February 2024, another source revealed that Ines had moved into Brad’s home, although she still has her own place.

In July, Brad and Ines were seen at the British Grand Prix in Northampton, England. Before that, in May, they were spotted taking a peaceful morning walk on the beach in Santa Barbara, which got a lot of attention online.

The couple looked relaxed and comfortable at the event, dressing casually for the occasion. Some people online noticed that Ines seemed to have features similar to Brad’s famous exes, Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston.

One person commented, “I can’t help but see a mix of both his ex-wives in her. It’s like combining Angelina and Jennifer into one.”

Another said, “She looks like a younger Angelina.” However, opinions varied. One Facebook user mentioned, “She doesn’t look like Angelina at all. She’s missing the cheekbones.”

While some focused on her resemblance to Brad’s exes, others praised Ines for her own unique beauty and the couple’s strong connection. “She looks beautiful just as herself. No need to compare her to Angie,” said a supportive comment on Facebook.

Fans have been discussing the deeper side of Brad and Ines’ relationship, appreciating how genuine Ines is. Some people commented, “Now he has someone who stands up for him,” and “Ines is the real deal. She’s not after money or fame. They seem to have a lot in common. I hope it works out!”

When they were spotted at the beach, they both wore white outfits, which added a touch of elegance to their casual stroll. Brad wore a white t-shirt with a loosely buttoned polo shirt and cream pants that suited the beach setting. He also had on orange sunglasses and was holding a drink, indicating a relaxed day.

Ines complemented Brad’s style with her own white flowy sundress that had a thigh-high slit. She finished her look with a sleeveless green puffer jacket and white sneakers.

This backdrop of personal changes for Ines mirrors Brad’s ongoing divorce saga, emphasizing how both are dealing with breakups in the public eye.

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