“Sit down,” Judge Alvarez ordered. “Let him continue.”
Noah glanced at me, then at his uncles. His voice didn’t shake. “Grandma asked me to be brave like my dad.”
He began to read.
“To my dear grandson… If you are reading this, it means people are trying to take your mother’s apartment. I want you to know she was the only one who truly cared for me in my final years.”
My breath caught. I hadn’t known Eleanor saw everything.
“My sons, Victor and Daniel, never visited me during my illness,” Noah read. “They only called about money. Your mother came every day, even after she lost her job taking me to doctor appointments.”
Victor slammed his hand on the table, shouting that it was a lie.
“Sit down,” the judge thundered. “You’re speaking of your mother.”
Daniel claimed Eleanor had been confused. Noah turned toward them. “She wasn’t confused. She helped me with homework. She told stories. She remembered everything.”
Then he continued.
“The apartment belonged to Grandpa Robert Hayes. Before he died, he made Grandma promise to give it to the person who showed her real love—not blood.”
Thomas Reed tried to interrupt again, but the judge stopped him.