A week after Karen’s life savings are stolen, she’s shocked to see her son driving a new sports car. He claims it’s from a new job, but Karen isn’t convinced. As her suspicions grow, a heated confrontation unfolds, leaving Karen desperate to uncover the truth about her son’s sudden fortune.
It had been twenty years since my husband left. Twenty years of scraped-together meals, late-night shifts, and those weeks when I’d count down to payday like it was some sort of lifeline.
A thoughtful woman | Source: Midjourney
I should’ve been used to the constant balancing act of being a single mother, but it still felt like I was one misstep from everything crashing down.
Jake was my life, though. No matter how hard things got, my bright-eyed, creative son was the reason I kept going. But there was a problem, a big one.
At twenty-five, Jake still hadn’t found his footing.
A young man checking his phone | Source: Midjourney
He had no job and no income. His art was everything to him, but it wasn’t enough to pay the bills. And trust me, there were so many bills. The financial pressure got worse when someone broke in and stole all my savings from my lockbox.
“Mom, you just have to trust me. I’ll figure out who stole your money. It’s all gonna work out,” Jake had said last week after my house was broken into.
But his voice had been too calm. Maybe I was too used to things going wrong. Still, the pit in my stomach only grew as I thought about that night. All the cash I’d saved for years, gone in an instant.
An old lockbox | Source: Midjourney
Then came the day when everything changed. Jake had gone out, probably off working on some new project that wouldn’t pay a dime.
I was at the corner store when I saw the shiny, red sports car gleaming in the sun. It screamed money. Flashy, expensive, and out of place in our neighborhood. I was about to climb into my beaten-up sedan when a familiar figure caught my eye: Jake.
He walked over to the sports car and climbed into the driver’s seat. My jaw dropped.
A sports car | Source: Pexels
My mind raced with possibilities as I headed home, each more impossible than the last. When I got inside, Jake was leaning against the kitchen counter, twirling the keys to the sports car parked in my driveway like they were nothing.
“Where did you get that car?” I demanded, barely able to keep my voice steady.
He glanced up, shrugging. “Oh, that? It’s nothing, Mom. I’ve got a new job.”
A man and woman speaking in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“A job?” I scoffed, crossing my arms. “Doing what? You’ve never held down a job in your life, Jake.”
Jake rolled his eyes, pushing past me to grab a soda from the fridge. “I’m not doing some minimum-wage labor if that’s what you’re asking. It’s legit.”
“Legit?” I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up.
His jaw tightened. “I’m not stealing, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
An angry young man | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, really? So where did you get the money for the car then? Or do you expect me to believe you just… stumbled into it?”
“I don’t owe you an explanation,” he snapped. “You wouldn’t get it anyway.”
My chest constricted. There was no way around it now. The horrible suspicion that had been gnawing at me since the robbery suddenly had teeth.
“You didn’t… take my money, did you?”
An angry young man | Source: Midjourney
He turned on me so fast. “How could you even ask me that? I can’t believe you’d think that of me. I’ve done nothing but try to make things better, and this is what I get?”
Without another word, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
I didn’t want to believe my son was a thief but I needed answers. I grabbed my keys and followed him. If he was up to something, I had to know.
A woman starting her car | Source: Midjourney
His new car was easy to tail. I followed him across town to some high-end beauty salon. My eyes narrowed as I watched him step out and wait by the curb. And then, she appeared.
A woman, older than Jake, maybe in her mid-forties, stepped out of the salon. I watched, frozen, as she wrapped her arms around Jake and kissed him. It wasn’t just a quick peck either. This was… intimate.
My throat tightened as I sank lower in my seat. Who was this woman? And what the hell was Jake doing with her?
A concerned woman in her car | Source: Midjourney
When they pulled away and got into the car together, I decided to keep following. They drove to the outskirts of town, where the houses turned into mansions. My stomach churned as Jake’s car pulled into the driveway of a sprawling estate.
My heart raced. This wasn’t just strange — it was wrong. Everything in me screamed that I had to stop this.
I didn’t wait for a second thought. I was out of the car and at the front door, pounding on it so hard I thought it might crack.
A grand front door | Source: Pexels
The door swung open, and there she was: the woman from the salon. Jake appeared behind her, his face immediately paling when he saw me.
“Mom?”
“Oh, you bet it’s your mom,” I spat. “What the hell is going on, Jake?”
The woman’s smile never faltered. “You must be Karen. Jake’s told me so much about you.”
“And you are?” I snapped, not bothering to hide the venom in my voice.
An angry woman | Source: Midjourney
She extended her hand as though this was all perfectly normal. “Lydia. Jake’s girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” I nearly choked on the word. “What is going on here, Jake? How long has this been happening?”
“Three months,” Jake muttered, not meeting my eyes. “Mom, please, just calm down.”
Calm down? Was he kidding me?
A stunned and furious woman | Source: Midjourney
“Calm down?” I repeated. “My house gets broken into, you show up in a sports car, and now I find out you’ve been shacked up with some rich woman for months?”
Lydia’s smile faltered a bit. “Karen, I think you’re misunderstanding—”
“No, I understand perfectly,” I said, eyes narrowing at Jake. “You’re using her. For her money, for this lifestyle. And that car — was that part of the deal too? Is this what you’ve been doing, Jake?”
Jake’s face darkened.
An upset man | Source: Midjourney
“It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like?” I shot back. “Because I can’t see anything else.”
Jake’s eyes flashed with anger, but behind it, I saw something else: hurt.
“I love Lydia, Mom,” he said. “Even if you find that hard to believe. I’m not going to argue with you about my relationship. We’ll speak later.”
And with that, he shut the door in my face.
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
When Jake came home later, I was sitting in the dark, waiting. I didn’t turn the light on when he walked in.
“Mom, we need to talk,” he said quietly. He wasn’t angry anymore. Instead, he just sounded tired.
I took a deep breath. “You’re right. We do.”
He sat across from me, rubbing his hands together like he was trying to find the words. I didn’t make it easier for him.
A nervous man sitting on an armchair | Source: Midjourney
“Lydia isn’t just some rich woman I’m using,” he said softly. “She’s been helping me. You know how hard I’ve worked on my art, but no one ever took me seriously. Except her. She pushed me to show my work and introduced me to people in the industry who saw what I could do.”
I blinked at him, the weight of his words slowly sinking in. “Jake…”
“I know I should’ve told you about her earlier, but I was scared,” he admitted, his voice cracking a little.
An emotional man | Source: Midjourney
“You’ve been through so much, and I didn’t want you to think I was doing something shady. Lydia’s helped me get my first real exhibition. I’ve already sold enough to pay off your debts, Mom. All of it.”
I stared at him, unable to speak for a moment. “You… what?“
“The money and the car didn’t come from anything illegal. It was from my art. Lydia helped me organize everything, and the exhibition is in two days. I’ve worked so hard for this, and I wanted to surprise you.”
An earnest man sitting on a sofa | Source: Midjourney
“I’m sorry I doubted you,” I whispered.
Jake looked at me, and for the first time in a long while, I saw my little boy who always had big dreams, even when they seemed impossible.
Two days later, I walked into a gallery filled with people admiring Jake’s work. My son, who’d spent so many years lost in his art, was finally being seen for the talent he was.
During the event, Jake stood up to give a speech.
A person holding a microphone | Source: Pexels
“Thank you all for coming. This night means everything to me. But I have to say, none of this would’ve happened without my mom. She’s the reason I kept going, even when things got tough. So, Mom, this is all for you.”
Jake smiled at me from the stage, and then, to my absolute shock, he held up the keys to the car. “I wanted to give you something to make life a little easier. You’ve earned it. Thank you, Mom.”
A happy woman at an art exhibition | Source: Midjourney
The room erupted into applause, but all I could do was cry. After years of struggle, we were finally going to be okay.
Here’s another story: When our daughter Sarah demanded a down payment for a house as her 18th birthday gift, we were stunned. Determined to teach her a valuable lesson, we gave her a fixer-upper instead. As Sarah dove into renovations, she faced unexpected challenges that transformed both the house and herself.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
“These aren’t my children,” the husband squealed, “Lada, they’re… dark-skinned! Who did you have them from?”
“These aren’t my children,” the husband screamed, shaken to the depths of his soul, “Lada, they’re… dark-skinned! Who gave birth to them? Are you chea:ting?! Don’t come back to my house, don’t even try to cross the threshold! And don’t count on any material support – there won’t be any!”
Lada had an unlucky life.
She grew up in an orphanage where she had almost no friends, and those people who came to choose a child for adoption never drew attention to her. The only close person for Lada was her nanny Vera Pavlovna, who tried with all her might to find adoptive parents for Lada.
Right before graduation, Vera Pavlovna decided to tell Lada the story of her arrival at the orphanage.
“You were about a year old when you were brought here,” Vera Pavlovna said softly, looking at the shelter building.
“I remember that day as if it were yesterday. It was spring, the snow had just melted, it was getting warm. We were cleaning the yard, collecting leaves, and suddenly a police car arrived. Whether this is true or not is unknown, but for some reason no one found you. And you stayed here.
She fell silent and looked at Lada:
– And that’s all? – asked Lada, – you don’t know anything about my parents?
Vera Pavlovna sighed heavily and lowered her head.
“Nothing at all,” she agreed, “nothing about parents or other relatives. It’s as if you fell out of the sky.”
After leaving the shelter, Lada studied in medical school.
She was given a small apartment in a new building, and she got a job as a nurse at the regional hospital to blend her studies with work. It was there that fate brought her together with Anton, a therapist who immediately attract her attention.
There were old rumors that before Lada appeared, he had a romantic relationship with endocrinologist Kristina, a real beauty of the hospital. However, he loved Lada.
– What did he see in her? – asked Lera, one of Anton’s most persistent fans, – you can’t look at her without tears! Skinny as a stick, and dresses anyhow. Whoever undresses her starts crying!
“She’s from an orphanage,” giggled Nastya, her former rival, “everyone there is so weird, so silly.”
Lada heard these words, but pretended not to understand who they were talking about.
“Girls, get to work,” “and I have important news for you.”
After waiting until the nurses were out of sight, he continued:
— We’re having dinner at my parents’ tonight. It’ll be something like an introduction. Do you understand?
Lada was taken aback: already?! If Anton decided to introduce her to his parents, it meant that their relationship was progressed to marriage.
In the evening, Anton took Lada, dressed in a smart dress, to his parents.
“So you grew up in an orphanage,” Anton’s father said
“that’s bad. Very bad. The absence of parents has an extremely negative effect on the formation of personality.”
Anton’s mother, Ida Vitalievna, a former cardiologist, supported her husband:
“Yes, it’s really not good,” she added, “and why, if it’s not a secret, has no one adopted you?”
“I don’t know,” she muttered, trying to hold back her tears, “it didn’t rely on me.”
“Excuse me, I have to go,” Lada couldn’t resist, “coursework…”
He walked her to the entrance and offered to give her a ride, but Lada refused.
“I’ll get there by taxi,” she muttered, greedily inhaling the cold air, “see you tomorrow.”
“Don’t pay attention to my old people,” he said, trying to calm her down, “they sometimes drive me crazy too. They both have difficult personalities.”
She wanted only one thing – to be as far away from this house as possible.
Fortunately, Anton no longer invited her to her parents. Soon he proposed to her and moved her in with him.
The wedding happened a month after the proposal, when Lada was two months pregnant.
After the wedding, Lada continued working at the hospital, but when the baby began to grow, Anton suggested that she leave her job.
Three weeks before her due date, Lada gave birth to twin boys. When the midwife showed them to her, Lada froze in surprise: the children were dark-skinned, as if someone had dipped them in chocolate. The doctors were also surprized, and the doctor tried to calm Lada down.
“You know, my child was also born dark-colored,” the doctor said, “but after a few days everything went away, the skin color became normal.”
“If everything is okay with them, you won’t be able to hide them for long,” the doctor warned, “it’s better to prepare it in advance.”
And that’s what Lada did. She was ready to take a DNA test.
“So these are definitely my children?” Anton exclaimed when he saw the twins.
“If this is someone’s joke, it’s not funny at all!”
“I never expected you to be capable of something like this,” Anton said when they were alone. “I, a fool, believed you! I ran around the shops, got ready, and you… What a snake you are, Lada!”
– These are your children! What are we even talking about if I was always in your sight?
“Your parents were right about you,” he said slowly. “And I kept standing up for you. I don’t know who got you pregnant, but now seek help from him. I won’t live with you anymore!”
Vera Pavlovna came to pick up Lada from the hospital and took care of them at her home.
– Listen, why are your children like that? – Vera Pavlovna asked one day
– You’re white, Anton too. And they’re black. It’s somehow strange.
“Well, there you are too,” she drawled in a pained voice. “I thought that at least you would believe me…”
“Yes, I believe you, I believe you,” she smiled. “It’s just really amazing.”
But Lada had no time to be surprised. Anton had abandoned her and she could forget about work and school, as well as her previous life.
“It’s okay, we’ll manage somehow,” said Vera Pavlovna.
Vera Pavlovna took care of Igor and Sasha – that’s what Lada named the twins. She fussed over them as if they were her own grandchildren, and hardly let Lada near them.
“Rest,” Vera Pavlovna said every time Lada approached the children
“I thought about it a bit and decided this,” Vera Pavlovna said one evening, sitting in her chair with a newspaper.
“Maybe your ancestors were dark-skinned? That happens sometimes. Dark-skinned people have light-skinned children.”
Lada looked up from the keyboard and grinned.
“My ancestors? Dark-skinned?” she responded skeptically. “Where from? That’s nonsense.”
Vera Pavlovna put the newspaper down with a terrible expression and asked to call a taxi. Putting on her glasses, she began to read aloud.
The article shared the story of an elderly local woman who had lost her daughter. According to her, she had drowned in a river when she was just over twenty, and she left behind a small child who was with her mother at the time of her passing. By the time rescuers and the police arrived, the child was gone. The woman asked anyone who knew anything to come forward.
– And why did you read this to me? – Lada got angry at Vera Pavlovna. – What does this have to do with me?
“Maybe it’s you she’s finding for,” she suggested cautiously.
“You were found near this river, after all. Did you hear who the missing girl was meeting? I think you should visit this woman and find out everything.”
Lada looked at the newspaper again.
“Lidiya Fyodorovna,” she read the woman’s name and patronymic. “She lives not far from here, on the next street.”
After waiting a few days, Lada decided to meet Lidiya Fyodorovna.
“You look so much like my Sveta,” she said as soon as Lada entered. “I’ve been waiting to hear from you for a long time…”
“Here, look,” she said, handing it to Lada. “They really are similar, aren’t they?”
Lada looked at the photo and it seemed to her that she was looking in the mirror. It was her in the photo, only her hair was light and her hairstyle was short.
“This is Sveta, my daughter,” explained Lidiya Fyodorovna.
“Tell me everything,” she asked, trying to speak more gently. “It’s very important to me. For me and my children.”
“It’s a long story,” she said.
“I don’t remember everything anymore, it was so long ago. Listen.
Lada’s mother was an average student at school, and then entered the university in the architecture department. During her studies, she met a guy. His name was Vincent, he was dark-skinned and came from France to study. Sveta helped him learn Russian, and eventually fell in love with him. Vincent also fell in love with her, and they planned to move in with him.
Lidiya Fedorovna and her late husband Pavel tried their best to dissuade their daughter from marrying a foreigner. But Svetlana, stubbornly shaking her head, insisted that after completing her studies she would follow her lover.
Pavel, hearing this, became furious and insistently demanded that his daughter terminate the pregnancy. But Svetlana resolutely refused. In the end, her father kicked her out of the house. Svetlana left, and her parents never saw her again until one day her body was found in the river, and the official version was that she committed sui:cide.
“I knew that Svetlana had a girl,” said Lidiya Fyodorovna, her gaze fixed on one spot and her half-turned face towards Lada.
“Pavel passes away almost immediately after these events, he had a heart att.ack,” continued Lidiya Fyodorovna, lowering her head, “and I was paralyzed… Now I have not been able to walk for almost twenty years.
“Here,” she held out a tattered notebook, “is all that remains of your parents.”
Lada took the book and carefully hid it in her pocket.
Lada spent many years searching for her father. She sent out letters, posted ads on the Internet, made acquaintances with French people, hoping to find at least some clue.
Lada begged the woman to give him her contacts, and she agreed. Soon Vincent wrote, and then called. That’s how their communication began.
As it turned out, Vincent ran his own business successfully in France.
“I didn’t start a family, and so I remained alone. I found out that your mother was no longer there when I was already back home. You look amazingly like her! You know, daughter, now for the first time in many years I feel happy. I know that I’m not alone. I have you and my grandchildren.”
Even after returning home, Vincent did not forget about his daughter. One day he called and asked her for her bank details. The woman immediately called her father back. Vincent explained:
– I want you to have everything you need! This amount will be enough for you to start your own business. You are a goal-oriented girl, I am sure that you will succeed.
Lada spent a long time choosing the direction for her business, and the choice fell on a private medical clinic. Thanks to the professionalism of the doctors, clients came in droves. In a few years, Lada won all competitors and achieved financial well-being.
There was no action of Anton during this time. He never called or buy something for the children. The divorce was finalized, and Lada did not continue to meet her husband, who did not believe her.
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