A Dark Deal: Part 1
Mrs. Yao's Daughter
We waited in the tastefully decorated waiting room of Taylor, Taylor, and Beauford, a law firm that neither my Mother nor I had heard of until yesterday. My Mom (Minoru) and I had been summoned for the reading of my Uncle Henry's will. The lifelong playboy had died suddenly from a heart attack at the age of 60, the same way my father had passed almost five years ago.
Mildly bored, I browsed Tiktok as I waited, occasionally glancing at the pretty young brunette receptionist with the blowjob lips. Her uptight demeanor and polite coldness had seemed to make her more attractive for some reason.
Just when I was about to tell my Mom I'd wait in the car, the girl picked up the receiver and spoke briefly into it before ushering us into the large office beyond. As we entered, a tall balding man with elongated limbs rose to greet us.
Something about his smile and beady eyes made my skin crawl.
"Mrs. Campbell, very nice to meet you!" He outstretched his unnaturally long, bony fingers. "My name is Errol Beauford. I believe we spoke yesterday."
"Mr. Beauford, a pleasure to meet you." my mother replied, shaking his hand.
"Please do take a seat." He gestured to the two leather chairs. "As I mentioned yesterday, your brother-in-law Henry passed away last week in Hawaii. Apparently, it was quite sudden."
"That is... unfortunate to hear." my Mother said.
I almost believed her.
She had told me that the only time she met Henry he had spent half his time leering at her like she was a piece of meat, and the other half insinuating that it was only a matter of time before my mother would divorce my father. Presumably, according to my uncle, a Japanese woman married to an American man would always be suspected of infidelity, gold-digging, or trying to secure a visa.
I suspected my late uncle was just a monumental prick.
"Most unfortunate." Mr. Beauford agreed in a tone that made me wonder if he understood completely (and agreed with) my mother's sentiments. "Well, in any case, Henry died with some assets. Most of his estate will be divided amongst his 14 children."
Jesus Christ!
14 kids!?! The guy must have been allergic to rubber!... and pulling out.
"My, my! So many!" my mother exclaimed.
"Indeed. Henry DID leave you a sum of money, Mrs. Campbell. Some... $21,393... and 67 cents."
"Oh, well! That was very gracious of him!"
The oily, dark irises turned to me.
"And for you... Ken... he left this." The lawyer's pale slender fingers twirled a manilla envelope with unnerving dexterity. I was reminded of a spider spinning a web. He slid it across his desk.
My Mom and I exchanged a glance.
I had never even met Uncle Henry.
Reaching for it, I hesitated.
"What... is it?" I asked.
"I do not know. The instructions state only that you are to open this envelope, on your own. No one else is to be present."
"O-K." I said dubiously. "I guess I'll open it when I get home."
"Unfortunately... in order for me to honor Mr. Campbell's last wishes, I must see that you have opened it in the specified manner. As such, Mrs. Campbell, might I ask that you and I wait outside for a moment?" He spoke with a machine-gun staccato. My mother, looking as confused as I felt, simply nodded, rose, and stepped out into the waiting room. "Please let us know once you are finished, Mr. Campbell. No rush." With massive strides, he followed my Mom, silently closing the door behind him.
Lifting the envelope I felt something heavy inside. I tore open the seal and tipped the contents onto the desk. A large golden ring clattered on the oak, followed by a folded piece of paper.
Damn!
Whistling appreciatively, I lifted the heavy ring, turning it in my hand. It was a large sovereign bearing a sigil of a three-headed creature. One head was that of a bull, one a man, and one a ram.
Sliding the ring onto my finger, it fit perfectly.
Nonplussed, I took it off, returned it to the desk, and opened the accompanying note.
Ken,
If you are reading this... I kicked the bucket. I can only hope I died in the warm embrace of a woman's thighs.
As my only surviving male family member, I want you to have this ring. It brought me far more than luck. If I was to try explain it to you, you'd just think I was deluded. Or drunk. Better you find out yourself.
Yeah, yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but... trust me.
Unscrew the ring and prick your skin.
You're welcome in advance.
Uncle Henry
p.s. Tell your Mom I'm sorry I was such a prick.
... What the fuck was that supposed to mean?
Once more I scanned the note just to make sure I hadn't misread it. Again I picked up the ring and assessed it, this time noticing the seam line where the sigil could be unscrewed. I turned it, releasing it from the base of the ring.
Inside was a hollow chamber where a tiny pin protruded from the center.
Bizarre...
Was this guy laughing his ass off from the other side?
I replaced the lid of the ring and slid it into my pocket, along with the folded note.
Hmmm.
The old coot probably lost his marbles toward the end.
Opening the door to the waiting room, I stepped forward and handed the lawyer the empty envelope.
I realized as I shook his cold hand that I hadn't yet seen the man blink.
"Ahhh, very good! Mr. Campbell, Mrs. Campbell, I do believe that concludes our business!"
As my mother drove us home a few minutes later, I slid the ring onto my finger in my pocket. Taking my hand out, I idly rapped my fingers on the dashboard, drawing her gaze. Her eyes widened as she noticed the sovereign.
"Wow! That looks expensive!" At the next red light, I held it up for her inspection. "Weird emblem... but if it's real gold, I'd say you could sell it for enough to buy yourself a car!"
I had been saving up for a second-hand car for almost a year. At 18, I was the only one of my friends without my own rid.
"Hmmm..." I mused, looking at the ring. "Yeah, I guess so!..."
Maybe old Uncle Henry wasn't such an asshole after all.
______________________
That night I worked on a school assignment... by which I mean, I found a similar essay online, copied it, and replaced just enough words to pass a rudimentary plagiarism check. Pretty sure the Founding Fathers wouldn't mind too much.
After I closed my laptop, I got into bed and reached over to turn off my lamp.
I noticed Henry's ring on my bedside locker.
Weird...
Did I leave it there?
My hand paused over the lamp switch. Instead, I scooped up the ring before sitting up in bed.
Once more I unscrewed the top. Once more the pin inside was revealed.
He had told me to prick my finger on it...
I twisted the ring, holding it up to the lamp light. There didn't seem to be anything more to it than I could see.
Seemed stupid. I wasn't really considering it?... Was I?
Ahhh... fuck it.
I placed my thumb on the pin and slowly pushed down onto it. I felt it pierce the skin and withdrew it. A bead of blood formed, before swelling.
The droplet fell into the empty ring before I put my thumb into my mouth and sucked it, the metallic taste of blood hitting my tongue.
To my horror, the blood seemed to sink into the ring!
WHAT THE FUCK!?!
There had to be some rational explanation!
Maybe it had a hidden chamber or something?
