With only a couple of days left before the end of the year

James opened the mail from yesterday

It was mostly junk mail as usual but one letter caught his eye

From a lawyer he did not know, probably a circular he thought

Maybe some more bad news relating to his divorce perhaps

He left it on the kitchen table unopened

Thinking no more about it he went about his usual daily tasks

Later in the day he was tidying up and almost tossed the letter away 

Something told him it was important so he opened it

It was from an estate attorney advising him that a distant relative he never knew had passed away

Advising him that he had been left an inheritance and to contact them

If it was significant this could save him from financial ruin

He tried not to get too carried away, it may have been just a token amount

He made an appointment to see the attorney the following week

The fancy offices implied that this was a top class expensive law firm

James learned that Arthur was his distant cousin,  a wealthy businessman who had never married

The attorney handed James an unopened letter from Arthur, he read it slowly

I am sorry we never met James

My attorney recently traced you as my closest relative

I did not want you to see me terminally ill

I am leaving you my entire estate

Wishing you good health and a happy life

The attorney then read out the details of the will

Arthur had four large properties and a lot of investments

His total net worth was close to $50M