A wealthy father sends a letter to the children, in which he fakes his death to determine his rightful heir. On the day of his funeral, instead of five sons to mourn his death comes an unknown girl.
What would we not do for our dear children and grandchildren? We are ready to turn heaven and earth, sacrifice everything and even tear our hearts to show them how much we love them.
But a 68-year-old caring father, Benjamin, sent each of his five sons a fatal letter faking his death. Of course, none of them thought their father had tricked them into choosing an heir.
Everyone who knew Benjamin’s family knew how hard that man worked to create his wealth. Benjamin was only 21 years old when he started his business from scratch, and he continued to grow over the years thanks to his hard work and dedication.
He always taught his children the value of hard work, which brings sweet fruit. But for the children of Benjamin, Jake, Simon, Kevin, Jose, and Rick, all that mattered was MONEY. As they got older, they disapproved of the father’s words about hard work and rejected his wisdom as long unnecessary lectures.
Eventually, the sons moved out of their father’s house and visited him only when they needed his credit card to pay the bills. Benjamin knew perfectly well that his sons were on the wrong track. But there wasn’t much he could do to make them realize that money was just perishable paper.
Unfortunately, the situation has worsened since the death of Benjamin Lily’s wife. Just a few months after her death, Benjamin distanced himself further from his sons, who only saw a live ATM in him.
But the heartbreaking truth was that Benjamin always missed his children. He was lonely and unhappy and constantly reached out to them in the hope that at least one of them would turn around and take care of him.
One can imagine the place Benjamin would occupy in the hearts of his sons if he were not so rich and could not give them money when they wanted.
The old father was depressed and didn’t know how or where to vent his disappointment. He could not resent his children because he loved them so much that he always forgave them. He hoped they would realize that his health was deteriorating and he was slowly dying.
“My sons will come back to me sooner or later,” he often comforted himself. It’s been a few months, and Benjamin hasn’t heard anything about his kids starting their own businesses in different states.
On one occasion, all of his sons received an unexpected letter from his father’s lawyer announcing his untimely death.
“Please come to the funeral. Your father’s last wish was to be buried in the presence of his beloved children,” read one line of the letter.
The sons grinned and shrugged. They did not know that their father intended to determine which of them deserved his multi-million dollar fortune. They sent letters to the solicitor inquiring about the fate of their father’s inheritance and who received what. Of course, Benjamin was still alive, but his sons did not yet know this.
It was the day of the funeral. Benjamin was sitting in a chair in the cemetery, looking forward to seeing his sons.
“I mentioned that the funeral would be at noon, but my boys haven’t arrived yet. It’s almost time,” he grinned. At that moment Benjamin saw the silhouette of a young woman entering the gate. She was dressed in black and prepared to mourn. “But I don’t see a funeral here today… Am I in the right cemetery?” – she wondered.
“Do I know you, young lady?” – Benjamin asked.
“Hello, I’m Alice, and I’m here for the funeral of Benjamin, the father of my fiancé Jake,” she replied, looking around. She was totally confused, as she didn’t see any funeral preparations there.
“Does my son have a fiancée?” – Benjamin asked, astonished. “He never told me.”
“What, your son?” – shouted Alice, who later found out she was face to face with Jake’s father, who was very much alive.
“But your lawyer sent a letter saying you were dead. Why would you deceive your sons?” – she wondered.
Benjamin revealed to Alice his dramatic plan to determine his rightful heirs.
“I have decided to make a will and leave my fortune to the child who most deserves it. But I am surprised that they are no longer interested in me. I was asked what would happen to my estate after my death, but I didn’t answer that question under the guise of a lawyer because I was still hoping my sons would come to mourn my death.”
Benjamin felt very sorry for Alice. It also transpired that she had tried to persuade Jake to attend his father’s funeral, but he had refused. He planned to meet a lawyer the week after the funeral to find out how much he had inherited from his father’s inheritance.
Although Alice was very much in love with Jake, she did not support his views. She argued with him and went to Benjamin’s funeral against her fiancé’s wishes.
“You came to my funeral against my son’s wishes?” – Benjamin asked.
“My parents taught me to respect everyone, especially the elders. We will all grow old someday, and my heart would break if my child left me like this,” Alice replied, prompting tears of joy in the old man’s eyes.
Finally, two days later, Benjamin’s five sons received another unexpected letter. It was a letter from their father, and they were shocked to learn that he was still alive and had left a will making ‘someone else’ his heir.
“What? How can that be? Is he still alive? Why did his lawyer tell us he was dead?” – they argued amongst themselves. They rushed to their father and were surprised to see Alice. She was beside him, taking care of him.
“Alice? What are you doing here? I thought you were coming back after father’s funeral. And he’s alive,” Jake said angrily.
Benjamin refused to talk to his sons or accept their excuses. He ignored their pleas to change his will. On top of that, Alice broke up with Jake. She threw away his wedding ring and rebuked him for taking such a loving father for granted.
“Even if we grew old one day, and God forbid, Jake, how would we feel when we were treated unfairly and abandoned by our own children? Money is nothing compared to the love and blessing of our elders. I don’t want to continue a relationship with a man who has abandoned his father and only sees him as an ATM.”
After breaking up with Jake, Alice stayed with Benjamin and took care of him until his last days. She never expected anything in return, nor did she do any favours for his money. A few months later, Benjamin died peacefully in his sleep, and the day after his funeral, Alice received a call from his family lawyer.
“Yes, that’s right! Mr Parker left you a will and you will take charge of his business and estate. That was his last wish. Please come to my office to discuss the rest,” the lawyer told Alice.
Although Benjamin’s money didn’t interest her, Alice was surprised to become the sole heir to her former fiancé’s late father’s fortune. She accepted the offer to fulfil his last wish, while the five sons grumbled and scorned their father for disinheriting them. But they made him do it, didn’t they?
