**The Scratch, the Will, and the Unexpected Twist**
🔴 AUNT MARTHA’S CAT SCRATCHED ME — THEN I SAW THE WILL
🟠 I swear, Fluffy has never liked me, but this time, it was…different.
🟡 He hissed, claws out, and dug right into my arm; I yelled, a sharp, stinging pain radiating up to my shoulder, like fire ants. Everyone just stared, like I’d done something wrong. “He’s just protective of her things,” Cousin Beth said, all saccharine sweet.
🟡 But then, Martha’s lawyer cleared his throat and started to read the will. Her apartment, the summer house, the antique clock, everything was going to *me*. I’d known she liked me, but the others just looked so *shocked,* and Fluffy started purring, rubbing against my leg.
🟡 The relief was almost unbearable; the weight of money easing off my shoulders with every word. But as I looked carefully through the stack of legal documents, I noticed a small, handwritten note slipped between its pages.
🔵 Martha wrote two words: “Not valid.” Next to it was *my* name.
🟣 👇 Full story continued in the comments…
🟢 My blood ran cold. Had Martha known? Did she know I’d been secretly hoping for this inheritance, the way I’d been subtly maneuvering myself into her good graces for years? I glanced back at the others. Cousin Beth was practically vibrating with fury, her perfectly sculpted face contorted. The lawyer looked pale.
🔵 I refolded the note, my hands shaking, and placed it back amongst the legal jargon. I had to think. This wasn’t over. I could claim I’d never seen it. I could… do what? Martha was gone, and the words of the will, for now, still stood. Fluffy was still purring, a low rumble against my ankle. A shiver traced my spine, a sense of unease I couldn’t shake.
🟣 Days turned into weeks. The apartment was mine. The summer house was mine. The antique clock, ticking away in its new spot on my mantelpiece, was mine. And Fluffy? Fluffy was still around, sometimes affectionate, sometimes aloof, but always…watching. His emerald eyes followed my every move. He seemed to be waiting for something.
🟢 One evening, I was sitting on the sofa, reading a book in Martha’s old armchair, when I heard a scratching at the door. Fluffy was sitting beside me, staring intently. The sound was coming from the summer house’s address, a place that I had only visited once. I got up and opened the door to find nothing, but when I came back to the living room, the cat was gone. This was a sign that I was supposed to come to that address.
🔵 Driven by a growing sense of dread, and a morbid curiosity, I drove to the summer house. It was a gloomy day, mirroring the turmoil inside me. The old house seemed to sag under the weight of unspoken secrets. As I walked through the doors, I heard another scratching, this time coming from the walls. A large note was taped to the wall: “Check the attic.”
🟣 I had a look in the attic. I wasn’t afraid, but was cautious of what was waiting for me. I moved through the dust, and after some searching I found what I was looking for. An old, handwritten journal, Martha’s secret life. The last entry chilled me to the bone. It spoke of her premonitions, her fear of betrayal, and her plan. I understood now.
🟢 The scratching wasn’t from Fluffy. It was from something else.
🔵 I saw the light flickering as I heard a loud bang, I ran downstairs, and came face to face with Fluffy. With a loud screech, it leaped at me, claws extended. The last thing I saw before everything went dark was a smile. A human smile.