William was a wealthy businessman who decided to raise his deceased daughter’s seven children as his own. After his death, he leaves them a scavenger hunt to remind them of how important family is.
The 54-year-old William stood at the church pulpit as he spoke to the mourners. A tear slid down his cheek as he finished the eulogy for his deceased daughter and couldn’t hold back the tears.
“It pains me to bid you farewell, my dear daughter. But I find peace in knowing that you are now with God, looking down on all of us. Though we have lost a daughter and a mother, we have all gained an angel. I will make sure that all of your children – Benji, Brody, Nathan, Dan, Lisa, Bridget, and Amalia – are well taken care of. Rest in peace, my dear daughter.”
William kept his promise from that day on. He took his seven grandchildren as his own and raised them as best he could. Being a wealthy businessman, William was able to provide them with a wonderful life.
The children grew up and attended the best schools and universities. Some of them even married and had children of their own. As the years went by, William’s age began to affect his health. He became quite ill.
He decided that it was time to discuss the issue of his children’s inheritance. One day, he gathered all his children for brunch at his large mansion to talk about their inheritance.
To William’s surprise, the discussion quickly turned into an argument at the dining table. It broke William’s heart to see his children bickering and fighting over who deserved what and who didn’t.
“Oh, come on, Lisa! You can’t have the townhouse! You live in the city!” Benji shouted.
“You’re one to talk! You don’t even have kids! What would you do with all that space?” Lisa retorted.
“That’s enough!” said William, standing up. He suddenly felt dizzy as he got up and stumbled back.
“Grandfather!” the children exclaimed, rushing to his side. Amalia fanned her grandfather while her siblings helped him to the couch to make him more comfortable.
“Should we call an ambulance?” asked Lisa.
“No, I’ll be fine. I just can’t take any more of your bickering! You have to be united! As one family! Not like that!” barked William, trying to catch his breath. “Please, just put me to bed. I need to rest.”
The children put William to bed. Later that evening he went to bed, hoping his words would make a difference. Later, however, he learned that it was all in vain.
A few weeks later, William learned from Amalia, the youngest granddaughter, that the children had quarreled again over the inheritance and were no longer speaking to each other.
William hoped it was just a phase and it would pass. But five months later, everyone gathered at his home because William’s health was deteriorating. As he watched them socialize, he noticed that things only got worse. They hardly spoke to each other, and when they did, they got on each other’s nerves. William was inconsolable.
A month later, William passed away. After the funeral, the family gathered at William’s lawyer’s office to hear the reading of William’s will. None of them were prepared for what the lawyer had to say.
“For Benji, he left his old briefcase. For Dan, his cherished easel. For Bridget, his violin,” said the lawyer, ticking the boxes in the contract.
“Wait, wait, wait! He left Dan, the designer, an easel. Benji, the businessman, the briefcase. And Bridget, the musician, the violin. Is this a joke?” – Nathan asked, upset as much as his siblings.
“Yes… What? He’s going to let me have a knife because I’m a cook?! What will happen to the rest of his fortune? With the real estate and the business and the accounts?” spoke Brody.
“I’m sorry, people. I can’t tell you yet what will happen to the rest of his estate and assets. That was your grandfather’s wish,” the lawyer explained.
“This is ridiculous!” shouted Brody, stood up and left the room. The other siblings followed him, just as angry as their brother. Amalia, who was not as interested in the inheritance, left last. She was not angry about the will, but she was hurt by how their family was divided.
Later, the siblings met at William’s house to discuss their next steps. At this point, they only wanted to get what was rightfully theirs and then go their separate ways.
Tired of listening to her siblings argue in the living room, Amalia decided to go to her grandfather’s room for a moment of reflection. When she got there, she was shocked to find a large safe in the middle of William’s room. She immediately returned to her siblings and told them what she had found.
“What do you think is in there?” asked Lisa as they all gathered around the safe.
“Probably cash!” said Brody, staring at the safe with infatuation.
“Nah! That wasn’t Grandpa’s style!” remarked Benji.
“Yeah. Those are probably the deeds to his properties and accounts,” Bridget added.
“Well… We won’t know until we break it down. So let’s get going!” concluded Dan, eagerly typing in his grandfather’s birthday. The safe wouldn’t open.
This was the first of many attempts that night. The siblings spent hours trying different passwords for the 7-digit lock, but none worked. They searched all over the house for clues to a possible password but found nothing.
Fed up with their unsuccessful attempts, the siblings finally gave up and decided to go their separate ways and return to their own lives.
A few days later, all the siblings received posthumous letters from their grandfather. However, none of the siblings knew that the other siblings had also received letters.
The siblings still did not speak to each other, and none of them understood what the letters meant or wanted to investigate. All except one, Amalia.
Amalia’s letter contained nothing more than a single address that she recognized. It was the address of one of her grandfather’s farms. It was where they had always gone as children.
Amalia went to the farm, and when she arrived, she was met by the caretaker of the farm, Simon.
“Amalia! How nice to see you again! The last time I saw you, you were so young,” Simon said, hugging Amalia as she got out of her car. “I’m so sorry your grandfather passed away. He was a great boss and an even better person,” Simon said sincerely.
“Thank you, Simon. It’s good to see you, too. I actually came here because of him. He left me a letter referring me to this farm,” she said. “Do you know what he might have wanted to show me?” she asked.
“Oh, yes. I’ve been waiting for you. He gave me instructions to tell you to clean the hay in the pig pen,” Simon said, pointing to the small pig pen. It looked understandably disgusting, but fortunately for Amalia, there were no pigs in it.
“Eww! Why?” Amalia asked, shocked.
“You can guess as well as I can, Amalia,” Simon shrugged. “But those were the instructions I was given. Good luck,” Simon said, handing her the nearby shovel.
“I guess I have to clean this up now,” Amalia sighed.
Amalia immediately started cleaning up. It was a disgusting and tedious task, but Amalia managed to finish it eventually. When she finally had everything cleaned up, she was surprised to find a large “6” painted on the floor in white paint.
Amalia finally figured it out. It must have been a clue to a much bigger mystery. She wasn’t quite sure what her grandfather was up to, but she was sure the rest of her siblings were involved. She immediately called Benji.
“Benji, did you get a letter from Grandpa with an address on it?” asked Amalia.
“Yes, I did. How did you know?” asked Benji.
“I have one too. I went to the address and found the number six while cleaning a pigsty. I think it could be a clue to something,” said Amalia.
“A clue to what?” asked Benji.
“I was hoping you could help me with that. I think if we find the clue in your address, we might have a better idea of what we’re looking for,” explained Amalia.
“Okay. I’ll send you the address now. Let’s meet there,” concluded Benji.
Benji and Amalia met at one of William’s parking lots for some trucks he owned. There, they were greeted by one of the workers who showed them a dirty old truck that their grandfather had instructed them to clean.
Amalia and Benji got ready and set to work. When they finished, they saw the number 9 on one side of the front door. Benji and Amalia realized that these numbers could be the code they needed for the safe.
They called their siblings and explained their theory. They completed each task their grandfather had left them, one at a time. Their hunt took them across William’s various properties and they worked together to complete multiple tasks.
These tasks bonded the siblings together in a way they hadn’t in a long time. They rejoiced and mastered each test, task, and exam together as a family.
Finally, as a unit, they collected all seven numbers. They went to William’s house and used all the numbers they had collected to finally open the safe. They all huddled together and were nervous as they took a look inside the safe.
“All right, then. I think we should all look inside at the same time,” Amalia suggested, and her siblings nodded nervously in agreement. “One… Two… Three,” she said as they huddled together and peered into the safe.
To their surprise, they opened the safe door and saw each other again. There was nothing in the safe except the mirror. Amalia immediately burst out laughing, and her siblings gradually joined in as well.
“What are you laughing at? Did I miss the joke?” a frustrated Benji asked in confusion.
“Don’t you get it, Benji?! This is what Grandfather wanted. For us to be together, in unity!” explained Amalia.
“Wow! The old man had a crazy sense of humor!” said Benji, joining in the laughter of his siblings.
For once, their inheritance was not the focus of their conversation. Finally, they realized that their true treasure lay within themselves, in their family.
The siblings apologized to each other for letting something as trivial as money divide them. They decided to forget their feud and to take more time for each other, not just for the sake of their family, but also in honor of their grandfather.
After a few days, William’s lawyer gathered them again and said that since they had complied with their grandfather’s wishes, they would have access to the rest of the estate with its real estate and accounts.
The siblings decided not to divide the inheritance, but to manage everything together and look for the most reasonable solutions for everyone.
