When a young man received news of his father’s passing, he hurriedly made his way to the funeral, catching his stepfamily off guard. Amidst the silence, the late man’s dog started barking at the coffin, exposing a secret that the boy’s stepmother had hidden for seven years.
Over breakfast, Brandon told his son Lias that he wanted him to learn everything from the start. Despite the wealth Brandon had accumulated, he didn’t want to spoil Lias and instead wanted him to work hard. Brandon’s wife had died the previous year, leaving him to raise his son alone. Brandon had dedicated his life to developing his IT company, which eventually became one of the most successful in the city. While he had the means to provide Lias with a life of luxury, he wanted his son to strive to build his own career. Eventually, Brandon hoped that Lias would succeed him as head of the company.
Lias responded with a smile and reassured his father, “I understand your expectations, Dad. I won’t let you down.
A few days later, Brandon met a single mother, Susan, at a party. They hit it off because they had sons the same age. “Richard loves hanging out with his friends, and I keep dragging him inside,” Susan laughed. “It gets so annoying sometimes.”
“I can totally relate!” Brandon said. “My wife used to handle everything so well. I miss her when Lias gets on my nerves.”
After their first meeting, Brandon realised that he liked talking to Susan. He thought she understood him well and saw her as his potential partner – someone who could fill the void left by his late wife.
During their next few meetings, Brandon expressed his feelings and told Susan he wanted to get to know her better. To his surprise, Susan was interested in him too, and they soon began dating. Brandon met her every day after work and sometimes invited her over for dinner. He even introduced her to Lias.
But Lias did not like his father’s choice. He told Brandon to reconsider because he didn’t think Susan was sincere. He thought his father should take more time to get to know her before deciding, but Brandon ignored his son’s advice.
Two weeks later, Lias learned something shocking when he returned home from college. Upon entering his house, he saw two extra pairs of shoes on the doorstep and was stunned to see Susan sitting in the living room wearing a silk dressing gown – something she would wear in her own home.
When he entered his room, he saw a boy his own age asleep on his bed. “Who are you?” Lias asked angrily. “Get out of my room!”
Before Richard could answer, Brandon heard the commotion and rushed over to see what was going on. “Hey, hey!” he said, trying to take control of the situation. “Lias, this is your stepbrother Richard. He’s Susan’s son.”
“My what?” Lias’ eyebrows arched, forming deep lines on his forehead. “I don’t want a stepbrother!”
“Calm down, please.” Brandon put his arms around his son’s shoulders. “I’ve asked Susan to move in with me, but don’t worry. I’m getting the guest room ready for Richard. He won’t be sleeping in your room tonight.”
Lias was disappointed to hear his father’s decision. His strong gut feeling convinced him that Susan was not the right woman for his father, but he couldn’t bring himself to talk to Brandon until later that night when Susan made an announcement at the dinner table.
“Brandon and I are about to tie the knot!” her eyes glistened as she smiled. “We have decided to spend the rest of our lives together.”
Lias almost choked on his food when he heard Susan’s words. He looked at his father with wide open eyes, but was too shocked to say anything.
Later that night, Lias tried to voice his concerns, but Brandon refused to speak. “You shouldn’t interfere in my life decisions, Lias,” Brandon said. “You need to concentrate on your studies to pave your way to success.”
“Dad, please listen…” Lias tried to speak to his father.
“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” Brandon interrupted before returning to his bedroom.
Disappointed, Lias didn’t talk to his father about the subject again until Brandon’s birthday. Lias had been saving money to buy his father a smartwatch, so he bought one before Brandon’s birthday, wrapped it up and gave it to him at the party.
“I’ve connected your watch to the cloud and named it ‘Family’,” Lias told his father. “My phone and watch are also connected to the same cloud.”
“That’s great, Lias!” Brandon exclaimed.
“If it’s a family cloud, you should add Richard and Susan. They’re part of our family.”
Lias shook his head disappointedly. He didn’t want to share his father’s attention with Susan and Richard, but Brandon didn’t care. He was head over heels in love with Susan and couldn’t see past her beautiful appearance.
A few days later, Brandon came home with a key and gave it to Richard. “I bought you a brand new hatchback, son!” Brandon exclaimed as Lias looked at his father in shock. At this point he couldn’t help but interfere.
“That’s not fair, Dad!” Lias blurted out. “You always tell me to work hard for everything, but you gave Richard an expensive car? Why didn’t you tell him to work hard for it?”
Despite Lia’s protests, Brandon continued to give Richard expensive gifts in the hope that it would make his future wife happy. He sought approval from Susan by giving her son gadgets, unaware that it would soon lead him to an undesirable place in life.
Meanwhile, Lias was jealous of Richard and couldn’t understand why his father was spending so much on his girlfriend’s son. He felt a wave of fire inside him as he thought about his father’s unfair behaviour.
Soon Lias was shouting at his father when he saw an expensive mobile phone in Richard’s hand. Sitting at the dinner table with everyone else, Lias lost his temper.
“Why can’t you see that this woman is after your money, Dad?” he shouted. “She’s using you! She doesn’t love you, Dad. She loves your money!”
“How dare you talk about her like that?” Brandon grumbled as he rose from his seat. “Apologise to her and to Richard. Right now!”
“I won’t, Dad!” Lias shouted. “I won’t!”
“I won’t let you live here if you don’t apologise!” Brandon replied. “Don’t make me do anything you don’t like. Don’t make me cross any boundaries!”
Instead of apologising, Lias continued to argue with his father until Brandon decided to kick him out. He told his son to pack his things and leave immediately.
“I don’t want to see your face again!” Brandon shouted as he pushed Lias out the door. “Get lost!”
That was the last time Lias spoke to his father. He left Brandon’s house that day, graduated from college and soon moved to another state for work. In the meantime, Brandon had married Susan and considered Richard his son.
Lias had no contact with his father or Susan until he received an unexpected phone call seven years later.
“Hello, is this Brandon’s son Lias?” asked an old lady on the other end.
“Yes, I’m Lias,” the young man replied, trying to recognise the unfamiliar voice.
“I’m Brandon’s neighbour, Sally,” the old lady said. “Do you remember me?”
“Oh, Sally! How are you?” Lias chuckled. “It’s so good to hear your voice after so long!”
“Lias, I wanted to tell you something important,” Sally’s voice deepened. “It’s not good news.”
“What happened? Is everything okay?” Lias felt his heart skip a beat.
“Your father…” Sally paused for a moment.
“Brandon died this morning. I knew Susan hadn’t told you.”
“What?” Lias was shocked. He hung up immediately and rushed to his father’s hometown. He hadn’t spoken to his father for seven years and Lias wasn’t ready to hear about his death. He couldn’t understand why his stepmother hadn’t told him.
Susan had arranged a funeral at Brandon’s residence, where all his friends and family had gathered. She sat in a corner, weeping while covering her face until she saw Lias enter the house.
“What is he doing here? Who told him about Brandon?” she wondered while Lias looked at her with eyes wide open. He shook his head, trying to tell her how disappointed he was.
“Why didn’t you call me?” he whispered to his stepmother.
Instead of answering, Susan continued to cry because something was bothering her deep inside. She didn’t want Lias to attend the funeral because she had a secret to keep. A secret that would change Lias’ life.
A few minutes later Lias got up and saw Richard standing with Brandon’s pet dog. Lias walked over to the dog, leaned forward and ruffled his hair. Suddenly he broke free and ran towards the coffin.
“Hey, wait!” Richard said as Lias followed the dog. He was shocked to see his father’s furry friend continuing to bark at the coffin. Soon all the guests had their eyes on the dog barking at the coffin as Richard and Susan tried to pull him away.
“Wait!” Lias said. “Leave him. I want to see why he is barking. Maybe something in the coffin is scaring him.”
As Lias reached out to open the coffin, Susan’s hand went to her face as she looked at him, eyes wide open. “No! No! No!” she whispered, but it was too late. Lias had already opened the casket.
The devastated son was shocked to learn that his father’s body was missing. The coffin was empty and Lias had no idea why. He looked at his stepmother, his eyebrows furrowed, and demanded an explanation.
“Where’s dad?” the boy shouted. “What’s all this about? What’s going on?”
Meanwhile, the guests gasped and began to whisper amongst themselves, discussing why Susan hadn’t invited her stepson to the funeral.
“Hey, Lias!” Susan said nervously, her voice shaking. “I… I… I think you’re thinking too much. I mean…”
“Overthinking what? Where’s Dad? What’s going on?” Lias shouted at his stepmother.
Then Lias pulled his phone out of his pocket to call the police, but Susan grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Please don’t call the police. I’ll tell you what happened,” she said, looking down.
After sending the guests back, Susan revealed her secret. “Look, Lias,” she said.
“Don’t get me wrong, but your father disappeared seven years ago. It happened a few months after you left.”
“What?” Lias felt his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn’t believe that Susan had kept such a big secret from him for seven years. He was angry and began to demand answers.
“I started a search with the local authorities, but they couldn’t find anything,” she lied. “I’ve been so sad all these years, Lias. I miss him so much.”
“Oh, please!” Lias growled. “I know you wouldn’t have done everything you could to look for him. I know you very well!”
“Please believe me, Lias,” Susan held his hand. “I organised the funeral because his absence made me believe he must have died by now. I’m sure he would have contacted me if he were alive. You can ask the priests. They knew the coffin was empty.
Lias sat down on the sofa and covered his face with his hands. He knew he couldn’t trust his stepmother, so he went to his father’s office to look for clues. Opening the drawers, he saw the box containing the smartwatch he had given Brandon.
“This can help me find Dad if he’s still alive,” he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check the smartwatch’s location. The app showed that his father’s last position was in the middle of a forest.
Lias immediately got behind the wheel and followed the location on the map. A few minutes later, he could see a familiar house before him. It was old, covered with wild vines, and it didn’t seem like someone lived there.
“Why didn’t you call me Dad?” Lias asked worriedly.
As Lias stepped inside the house, he realized it was the same place he lived when he was three. His parents moved there when Brandon started his company. The rooms reminded him of his childhood because he couldn’t recall everything.
While walking inside the house, he realized he knew all the routes. He knew where the kitchen was and which room had an attached bath. Upon entering the bedroom, he saw his father sitting on a chair. His hair had turned grey, his cheekbones protruded, and it seemed like he had lost much weight.
“Dad!” Lias exclaimed. “Where have you been? What are you doing here?”
Brandon was shocked to see his son standing there. “How did you find me? Are you alone?”
“Yes, Dad,” Lias replied. “I used your smartwatch to contact you. Remember I connected it to the family cloud?”
“Oh, thank God you came alone, Lias!” Brandon hugged his son. “I didn’t want Susan or Richard to know I was alive.”
“But why, Dad? Why are you hiding here?”
“It’s a long story, Lias,” Brandon took a deep breath. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry I didn’t trust your judgement earlier. You were right about Susan. She loved my money, not me.”
“Oh, Dad,” Lias shook his head. “What did she do?”
“A few months after you left, I suffered a major loss in my business. I lost a couple of big deals that could have made me millions,” Brandon recalled. “But when I told Susan, she didn’t care. I expected her to comfort me and be my strength in difficult times, but all she cared about was whether I had enough money to buy her a phone from the upcoming collection so she could show it off to her friends. She is so greedy!”
“Why didn’t you call me Dad?” Lias asked worriedly. “I could have helped you.”
“I was too ashamed to contact you after what I did. I threw you out for telling the truth. I am a bad father.”
“Please don’t say that, Dad,” Lias held his father’s wrinkled hand. “You’re the best father I could have asked for.”
After discussing what had happened over the past seven years, Lias told his father he had a plan.
“I know how to get rid of Susan. I have the perfect plan,” he said.
The next day, Lias went to his stepmother’s house with a file and told her to sign the papers. “I spoke to the solicitor about dad’s will and found out that he wanted you to inherit everything,” he lied. “I want to give up my share because I know he didn’t love me. Please sign these documents so I can take them to court.”
Susan couldn’t believe her ears. The thought of owning Brandon’s estate, company and wealth made her so excited that she signed the documents without reading them and handed them back to Lias.
“Now get out of my house!” she shouted. “I don’t want to see you again, Lias!”
Thinking she had inherited all of her husband’s fortune, Susan was shocked to see Brandon enter the living room. “You thought I was dead, didn’t you?” he laughed as she looked at him with wide open eyes.
“I never thought you would sign documents without reading them,” Brandon added. “By signing these papers, you’ve agreed that you won’t ask for anything when I divorce you.”
“What? You can’t deceive me like that!” Susan began to scream. “Give me the papers, Lias!”
Brandon asked Susan to pack her things and promised to send the divorce papers in a few days. He soon moved back into his house with Lias, while Susan and Richard moved into a hostel.
Over the next few months, Lias helped his father get his business back on track. Brandon shared all his knowledge with his son, and they worked together to make their business profitable again.
