The man’s brothers were uninterested in the house their father had left them as an inheritance. When he offered to buy it, they sold him their shares. However, they later regretted their decision and became furious when he accidentally discovered a rare family heirloom in the house.
Adam Phillips was alone in his father’s old mansion, tears welling up as he reminisced about his childhood there and the nightmares he endured from his older brothers, Travis and David.
“I will see you again soon, Father!” he murmured, holding a photo of his late father. A breeze tingled his skin, and he decided to light the fireplace.
As he opened the stove door and tried to light the firewood, something fell, making a loud noise. Startled, he stepped back. He then approached the fireplace and discovered a life-changing heirloom that had been hidden for decades…
During his childhood, Adam had few fond memories of his brothers. They frequently bullied and mocked him for no apparent reason. The only person who stood by him was his father.
As smoke billowed from the chimney and an old magpie nest fell into the ashes, a valuable and unseen heirloom dropped out. Mr. Phillips had sent Adam to school in another city to help him become a more courageous person.
“You have to stand up for yourself, my son… I can’t always do it for you,” he often advised Adam.
Since then, Adam rarely returned to his hometown, although he remained close to his parents. During his mother’s funeral, he visited them and saw how they had turned his room into an indoor garden.
“Beautiful!” he marveled. As he explored the house, he encountered his brothers, who always had negative things to say about him and constantly gossiped.
“My sons… my boys!” Mr. Phillips cried, tears in his eyes. “Don’t forget that your old man is still alive… I would be happy if you could visit me more often.” The three sons reassured their father and hugged him goodbye after the funeral.
It was no surprise that David and Travis never visited him. Sometimes they didn’t even answer his calls and sent them straight to voicemail.
Adam, on the other hand, frequently visited his father, ensuring he never felt excluded. “And this… this is the old exhibit I bought in Italy this summer,” Adam said, showing his father an artifact he had purchased on one of his trips.
Despite Adam’s insistence that his father move to the city with him, he refused. “This house is not made of bricks or concrete… it is a place of my memories… it reflects our good and bad times,” Mr. Phillips often argued.
When his father spoke about the future of the house after his death, Adam promised he would never sell it or even move a stone. “It will be the weekend home for my children… for the holidays, I think!” Adam assured him.
But fate had other plans…
Adam went to the city, and a few weeks later, his phone rang. After answering, he dropped it to the floor and collapsed on the couch, burying his face in his hands. “Rest in peace, Father… rest in peace,” he sobbed.
Adam met his brothers at their father’s funeral and realized they were not there to pay their last respects, especially after overhearing them discussing the will.
“If we get the house, I know a realtor who can find us a good buyer for this old, ugly shack,” David said to Travis.
The next day, the brothers met at the lawyer’s office and learned that their father had indeed left the house to his sons, divided into three equal shares.
“I’ll buy it,” Adam said, as his brothers unanimously discussed selling the house. “I’ll buy your shares at a better price, so sell them to me.”
David and Travis had no idea why Adam wanted the old mansion, but since money was their priority, they agreed.
After a few formalities, Adam had the house transferred to his name. He went there to pack up his father’s things, and as he was sealing the boxes, he realized it was already too late.
“I’ll rest here tonight and call for the truck in the morning,” he murmured, sitting on the couch in front of the old fireplace.
It was too cold and windy, so he made himself tea and decided to light the stove. He stacked the firewood and ignited it. Smoke billowed from the chimney, and an old magpie nest collapsed into the ashes, revealing a valuable and previously unseen heirloom.
“What??? Oh my God,” Adam exclaimed as he sifted through the ash-covered debris. He picked up a sparkling ring with a huge stone…
“This must be the long-lost ring of my grandmother,” Adam murmured, recalling his father mentioning the ring that had never been found.
The next day, he rushed to a jeweler to find out the value of the ring. He was stunned when the jeweler told him the value of the diamond ring.
“It could be higher, but on average, it’s worth about €300,000,” the jeweler revealed.
Adam was astounded. He took the ring and drove back to his father’s house. Eventually, news of the discovery of the valuable heirloom reached his brothers.
“Can we see the ring?” Travis asked Adam during a surprise visit to his home.
“Why should we just see it when we can legally have it!” David interjected, while Adam silently watched.
After listening to his brothers bragging that the ring should belong to them since it was found in the house, Adam left and returned with a folder in hand.
“See, my dear brothers! This house now belongs to me, since you have already sold your shares to me,” Adam stated flatly. “And everything under, around, and above this roof now belongs solely to me!”
David and Travis made grimaces. They were silent for a while before storming out angrily.
Adam never heard from his brothers again, but he was sure they would do anything to possess the ring. That afternoon, he drove to the city where he worked and placed the ring in a bank safe deposit box.
“I’m keeping my promise, Father! I will never remove a stone from our house… and I won’t sell our memories,” he murmured on his way home.
What can we learn from this story?
Respect your elders, as it may pay off in the future: Of the three sons, only Adam supported his father and stayed with him until his last breath. After his father’s death, he bought his brothers’ shares in the house to keep the promise he made to his father. Thanks to his good deed, Adam was rewarded with a long-lost heirloom.
Never be greedy, as it could lead to losing even more: Adam’s brothers sold their shares in the house because they needed money and looked down on the old mansion. But when they learned about the valuable ring Adam had found, they envied him and claimed their right to it, but failed.
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