Family disputes over a loved one’s inheritance can be messy and painful, sometimes turning loved ones against each other. One woman shared her own heartbreaking story about what happened after her mother passed away.

In her letter, the woman explained how she had been the primary caregiver for her mother during her illness. “Mom was always my best friend,” she wrote, “so there was no question—I was going to be there for her every step of the way.”

But while she stayed by her mother’s side, her brother and aunts only seemed to show up when they needed something—usually money to pay their bills. “They were only interested in what they could get,” the woman recalled.

As her mother’s health worsened, one of her aunts tried to take advantage of the situation. “One of my aunts even started using her connections to try and find a new place to live, hoping to get a good deal because my mom owned a real estate company,” she wrote. “It was so sneaky.”

Then, her mother passed away.

The woman remembered the day of her mother’s will reading like a scene from a Hallmark movie. Her brother, aunts, and the family’s lawyer were all gathered in the room. The atmosphere was tense.

She sat quietly, sipping weak tea from a chipped cup, as the lawyer began to speak. And then, he dropped a bombshell.

“My mother wanted to give my brother and aunts the $5 million she had saved,” the woman wrote. “I sat there, trying to understand what was happening. I got nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

She sat in shock, staring at the broken teacup in her hands. Tears welled up in her eyes, and as she began to cry, her mascara started to smear onto her skirt. Across the table, her brother and aunts didn’t even try to hide their smiles—they were clearly thrilled with their windfall.

The woman’s story is a painful reminder of how greed can tear families apart, even in the face of loss.