After four years of silence, my son reappeared at my doorstep, not with apologies, but with a lawyer demanding that I vacate my own home. He didn’t know that his lawyer, my school sweetheart, had a plan that would change everything in ways he could never have imagined.
I hadn’t seen my son in four years. Not a single phone call, message or visit. After his father died, he took everything he wanted — my husband’s car, his watch, his money — and disappeared. No goodbyes, no explanations. He just vanished.
It wasn’t always like this between us. My son, Brian, was a good boy. But everything changed after his father’s death. My husband had been ill for a long time, and we knew it would happen, but his loss broke something in both of us.
Right after the funeral, Brian became distant. He didn’t cry. He didn’t stay. He didn’t even ask if I was okay. Instead, he grabbed everything he could of his father’s belongings and disappeared. I was too grief-stricken to stop him. His father’s watch, money, even his car were gone with him.
Over time, I had to learn to live on my own. I kept the house in working order, even though it was full of memories. My husband left it to me, and it became my refuge. In all those years, I never heard from Brian. In the end, I accepted that he was gone from my life. It was painful, but I had to move on.
I wasn’t ready for him to come back, especially like this.
Yesterday, he appeared at my doorstep. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him, and for a moment I thought he had come to apologise. I even smiled, thinking that perhaps he was ready to make things right.
But as soon as I opened the door, I saw someone standing next to him. A man in a formal suit with a leather briefcase. My son’s face was cold. There was no warmth in his eyes.
‘This is my lawyer,’ he said, his voice sharp and emotionless. ‘I’m giving you until tomorrow to leave this house, or we’ll take the case to court.’
I froze. At first, the words didn’t make sense. Leave the house? My house? The house where I had lived with his father, whom I had cared for for many years? My heart skipped a beat as I looked at the lawyer, hoping it was some kind of misunderstanding. But there was no mistaking it. It was all real.
‘You’re taking me to court over my house?’ I finally managed to whisper.
‘That’s right,’ he said, folding his arms. ‘Now it belongs to me.’
The lawyer stood with an expressionless face, but there was something familiar about him that stuck in my mind. He didn’t say anything, but when my eyes met his, I saw something flash in his gaze. He winked at me to get my attention, but not so much that my son would notice.
‘What are you talking about?’ I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. ‘This house is mine. Your father left it to me.’
Brian smiled coldly. ‘I don’t think so. You’ve gone too far, Mum. It’s time for you to move on.’
My thoughts were racing, but all I could focus on was the lawyer standing next to him. Why did he look so familiar?
The lawyer cleared his throat and looked at Brian. ‘I think we should talk to your mother alone before making any final decisions,’ he said.
Brian rolled his eyes. ‘Fine. You have five minutes,’ he muttered and headed for his car. He was so confident, so smug.
Once out of earshot, the lawyer turned to me, a small smile spreading across his face. ‘Long time no see, Mary,’ he said softly.
Suddenly, it hit me like a wave. This wasn’t just a lawyer. This was James. My James. My high school sweetheart. We had been inseparable back then, but life had taken us in different directions, and we had lost touch. And now here he was, working for my son, for all these people.
‘James?’ I whispered, still not believing it.
He nodded, his eyes warming with recognition. ‘It’s me. And don’t worry, I’ll cover for you. Let’s go inside.’
As soon as we were inside, James closed the door and turned to me. ‘Mary, I know this is very hard to accept. I can’t believe Brian is treating you this way. But trust me, we can stop him. He doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into.’
I shook my head, trying to hold back tears. ‘I don’t understand how this happened. He used to be so sweet, so caring. And now… this? He wants to take me home, James.’
James nodded sympathetically. ‘It’s hard to see our children make the wrong choices. But he’s playing a dangerous game and doesn’t realise it. Let me go back to him now, and tomorrow we’ll give him a very stern talking-to.’
The next morning, James showed up at my house with a warm smile and a bag of freshly ground coffee beans.
‘I thought we could relax with a cup of coffee first,’ he said, handing me the bag. ‘It’s been a long couple of days.’
When we finished our coffee, James glanced at his watch. ‘It’s time,’ he said, taking out his phone. ‘I’ll call Brian.’
I stood still, my nerves fluttering in my chest as he dialled the number. As soon as the call connected, I heard Brian’s voice on the other end, full of the same arrogance as the day before.
‘What now?’ Brian asked impatiently.
James, as usual, remained calm. ‘Brian, we need to talk,’ he said in a professional tone. ‘I want to explain the situation to you so that you understand exactly where you stand.’
Brian snorted. ‘Where do I stand? I think I’m pretty clear on that.’
James didn’t flinch. ‘Actually, I don’t think you understand. You’re trying to take your mother’s house away from her, but you don’t realise that you’re on shaky ground. Very shaky ground.’
There was a pause on the other end, and I could feel the tension mounting. Brian didn’t like being challenged, especially when he thought he had the upper hand.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Brian finally replied, his voice firming.
James leaned forward slightly, but his voice did not waver. ‘Let me explain this to you simply. What you did after your father’s death — taking his car, his watch, and other things without permission — is a serious crime. You sold things that did not belong to you. That’s theft, Brian.’
I could almost hear Brian’s breath catch. He had no idea where this conversation was going, but I could sense his confidence slipping.
‘Are you serious?’ Brian snapped. ‘I didn’t steal anything. Those things were mine!’
‘No, not mine,’ James said firmly. ‘They belonged to your father. And your mother never gave you permission to take or sell them. There are witnesses who saw you selling these things. You’re lucky no one has reported it yet. But if you go through with this lawsuit, everything will change.’
There was a moment of silence on the line. Brian didn’t answer, and I imagined the wheels turning in his head as he tried to figure out how to get out of this situation.
‘Are you saying I could get in trouble for this?’ Brian finally asked, his voice slightly trembling.
‘Yes,’ James replied bluntly. ‘You could be fined or worse. And if you delay this lawsuit any longer, we’ll make everything public. Do you really want to take that risk?’
Another long silence followed, and I held my breath, waiting for Brian’s response. When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter, less confident.
‘So what do you want me to do?’ Brian asked, sounding almost defeated.
James took a deep breath, keeping his voice steady. ‘Drop the lawsuit, Brian. Walk away before things get even worse for you. I’ll make sure nothing else happens if you do. But if you don’t, you’ll lose much more than just the case.’
Brian didn’t answer right away, and I felt the tension in the air as he pondered his decision. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he muttered, ‘Okay. I’ll drop it.’
When James hung up, I exhaled, not even realising I had been holding my breath. I looked at him, expecting some kind of explanation, but he just smiled lightly. ‘I just told him the truth. Sometimes that’s all it takes.’
‘You’re different, you know that?’ I said, shaking my head.
‘I’ve been told that before,’ he joked, getting up to refill his coffee cup.
Sitting and watching him move around the kitchen as if it were the most natural thing in the world, I realised that karma had done its job. Not in the way I had expected, but in the way that seemed right to me. Brian had been stopped in his tracks, not by anger or revenge, but by the truth. And perhaps that was how it was always meant to be.
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