What wouldn’t we do for our dear children and grandchildren? We would move heaven and earth, sacrifice everything, and even rip our hearts apart to show them how much we love them.
But doting dad, Benjamin, 68, sent just one fateful letter faking his death to each of his five sons. Of course, none of them had imagined their father had tricked them to determine his heir…
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Anybody who knew Benjamin’s family closely knew how hard the man had worked to build his riches. Benjamin was just 21 when he started his business from scratch, and it kept growing over the years, thanks to his hard work and dedication.
He always taught his kids the values of hard work yielding sweet fruits. But all that mattered to Benjamin’s children, Jake, Simon, Kevin, Jose, and Rick, was just MONEY. As they grew older, they disapproved of their father’s words of hard work, dismissing his wisdom as long unwanted lectures.
She was dressed in black, prepared for mourning. “But I don’t see any funeral here today… Have I come to the right cemetery?” she wondered.
Eventually, the sons moved out of their dad’s house and only reached out to him for his credit card whenever they wanted him to pay their bills. Benjamin very well knew his sons were on the wrong track. But he couldn’t possibly do much to make them understand that money is just perishable paper in front of relationships.
Sadly, things grew worse after Benjamin’s wife, Lily, died. Just months after her passing, Benjamin was estranged even more from his sons, who only saw him as a living, moving cash machine.
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The heartbreaking truth, however, was that Benjamin always missed his children. He was lonely and unhappy and constantly reached out to them, hoping at least one of them would turn around to look after him.
One could probably imagine what place Benjamin would have held in his sons’ hearts if he weren’t that rich or able to give them money whenever they wanted.
The old dad was depressed and did not know how or where to vent his frustrations. He couldn’t take it out on his kids because he loved them so much that he always forgave them. He hoped they would realize he was slowly dying due to health issues.
“My sons will come back to me sooner or later!” he often comforted himself. Several months passed, and Benjamin never heard from his children, who had started their own businesses in different states.
One day, all his sons got an unexpected letter from their father’s lawyer informing them of his untimely death.
“Please be here at the funeral. It was your dad’s last wish to be laid to rest in the attendance of his beloved children,” read one of the lines on the letter.
The sons grinned and dismissed it. They knew little that their father planned to determine who among them deserved to inherit his estate worth millions. They sent letters to the lawyer, inquiring about the fate of their father’s legacy and who got what. Of course, Benjamin was still alive, and his sons did not know that yet.
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It was the day of the make-believe funeral. Benjamin sat on his armchair on the patio in the cemetery, eagerly waiting to see his sons.
“I had mentioned the funeral would be at noon, but my boys haven’t come yet. It’s almost time,” he grinned. Just then, Benjamin saw a silhouette of a young lady enter the gate. She was dressed in black, prepared for mourning. “But I don’t see any funeral here today… Have I come to the right cemetery?” she wondered.
“Do I know you, young lady?” asked Benjamin.
“Hi, I’m Alice, and I’ve come to attend my fiancé Jake’s father Benjamin’s funeral,” she replied, looking around. She was pretty confused, not seeing any arrangement for a funeral there.
“My son has a fiancé?” Benjamin was startled. “He never told me.”
“What? Your son?” shrieked Alice, later learning that she was standing face to face with Jake’s dad, who was very much alive.
“But your lawyer had sent a letter informing you had died. Why would you lie to your sons?” she wondered.
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Benjamin revealed his dramatic plan to determine his rightful heirs to Alice.
“I decided to prepare a will and bequeath my fortune to the most deserving child among my five sons. But it surprises me that they are no longer interested in me. I got inquiries about what would happen to my estate after I was laid. I did not respond under the pretext of my lawyer because I still hoped my sons would come to mourn my death.”
Alice felt very sorry for Benjamin. It also turned out that though she tried convincing Jake to attend his dad’s funeral, he refused. He had planned to visit the lawyer a week after the funeral to determine how much he inherited from his father’s estate.
Although Alice was deeply in love with Jake, she did not support his views. She fought with him and came to attend Benjamin’s funeral against her fiancé’s wishes.
“You came to attend my funeral against my son’s wishes? But why sweetheart?” Benjamin wondered.
“My parents taught me how to respect everyone, especially my elders. All of us will grow old one day, and my heart would rip apart if my child deserted me like this,” replied Alice, bringing tears of joy to the old man’s eyes.
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Ultimately, Benjamin’s five sons got another unexpected letter two days later. It was from their dad, and they were jolted to know he was still alive and had bequeathed a will making ‘someone else’ his heir.
“What? How can that be? Is dad still alive? Why did his lawyer tell us that he was dead?” they discussed with each other. They hurried to meet their father and were startled to see Alice with him. She was by his side, taking care of him.
“Alice? What are you doing here? I thought you would be back after attending dad’s funeral. And he is alive. What is going on?” fumed Jake.
Benjamin refused to talk to his sons and buy their excuses for not visiting him. He turned a deaf ear to their pleas to amend the will. As an added insult, Alice broke up with Jake. She hurled his engagement ring and told him off for taking such a loving father for granted.
“Even we would grow old someday, and God forbid Jake, how would it feel to be wronged and abandoned by our own children? Money is nothing compared to the love and blessings of our elders. I don’t wish to continue a relationship with a man who has deserted his father and only sees him as a cash machine.”
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After her breakup with Jake, Alice stayed with Benjamin and cared for him until his final days. She never expected anything in return and did not curry favors for his money. A few months later, Benjamin died peacefully in his sleep, and the day after his funeral, Alice got a call from his family lawyer.
“Yes, that’s right! Mr. Parker has left you a will, and you will take over his business and property. It was his last wish. Please come to my office to discuss further,” the lawyer told Alice.
Although she didn’t care about Benjamin’s money, Alice was surprised to become the sole inheritor of the late man’s wealth. She accepted the offer to fulfill his last wish while the five sons grumbled and despised their father for disinheriting them. Of course, they made him do it, didn’t they?
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What can we learn from this story?
- Do not take someone’s love for you for granted. Benjamin’s sons knew how much their father loved and missed them. But they only reached out to him whenever they needed money. They only saw him as a living money machine and failed to respect his feelings.
- Money is not everything; what matters the most is how much love you earn in your lifetime. Alice fought with her fiancé, Benjamin’s eldest son Jake, and attended his father’s funeral against his wish. She believed that money is not everything in the world and love matters the most in a person’s lifetime.
An older man devises a plan to teach his selfish family a lesson. He fakes his death to determine his heir, but in the end, everything goes to a young orphan boy next door. Click here to read the full story.
This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it
