Your story is heavy with betrayal, resentment, and unexpected consequences. It’s understandable that you feel lost—your mother manipulated you into a life you never planned, and now, in the wake of her death, you’re left grappling with the aftermath of her decisions.
Right now, it might feel like you’ve lost everything: control, security, and even the relationship with your daughter. But maybe, just maybe, there’s an opportunity hidden within this chaos.
You have three years before she gains full control of the inheritance. Instead of focusing on what was taken from you, this might be the time to rebuild the relationship with your daughter—not out of necessity, but because she’s the only real connection left. Your mother had her own agenda, but that doesn’t mean you can’t carve out something genuine between you and your child.
It won’t be easy. She may resent you for the years your mother dominated her upbringing. But she’s still young, and there’s room for change. Instead of viewing her as the “keeper of the fortune,” try to see her as someone who may be just as lost as you are in all of this.
Where do you go from here? That depends on what you truly want. If it’s the money, there’s not much you can do but wait. If it’s control, that ship has sailed. But if it’s understanding, connection, and reclaiming your own narrative—then you have some real work to do.
How do you feel about your daughter? Is there a part of you that wants to know her beyond the tangled circumstances of her birth?