What would a parent not do for their children? We would move mountains, give up everything, and even break our own hearts just to show how much we love them.
Benjamin, a wealthy 68-year-old father, took this idea to an extreme—but in a way nobody expected. Instead of simply telling his sons how much he cared, he sent each of his five sons a shocking letter pretending that he had died. Why? To find out which one truly deserved to be his heir.
No one in the family ever guessed Benjamin was playing such a risky game.
Anyone who knew Benjamin well understood how hard he had worked to build his fortune. He was only 21 when he started his business from nothing. Slowly, year after year, his company grew bigger and bigger, all because of his endless dedication and sweat.
Benjamin never stopped teaching his sons about hard work and how it pays off. “Hard work always brings sweet rewards,” he would say. But his sons—Jake, Simon, Kevin, Jose, and Rick—paid little attention. All they cared about was money. They saw their father’s advice as boring lectures they didn’t need.
Over time, Benjamin’s sons moved out of the family home. They only contacted him when they wanted him to pay their bills. Benjamin knew they were lost, chasing after money without understanding what really matters. But how could he make them see that money is just paper, and nothing beats family?
Things got worse after Benjamin’s wife, Lily, passed away. Her death crushed Benjamin’s heart. In the months that followed, his sons drifted even further away, seeing him less as a father and more as a never-ending ATM.
The worst part? Benjamin missed his children terribly. Deep down, he was lonely and sad. He kept trying to reach out, hoping one of them would finally come back and care for him.
He often thought to himself, “My sons will come back to me sooner or later.” But as months passed, no one called. They were busy starting their own lives in different states.
One day, every son received a letter from their father’s lawyer. It said Benjamin had died suddenly and asked them to attend his funeral.
“Please come to the funeral,” the letter read. “It was your father’s last wish to be buried with his beloved children by his side.”
The sons barely bothered. They smirked, thinking it was just another formality. Little did they know, Benjamin was alive, and the “funeral” was a part of his plan to figure out who among them truly deserved to inherit his millions.
The day of the fake funeral arrived. Benjamin sat comfortably in his armchair on the cemetery patio, waiting excitedly for his sons.
“It’s almost noon, but my boys haven’t come yet,” he chuckled to himself. “They always say they’ll show up, but they never do.”
Suddenly, a young woman appeared at the cemetery gate. She was dressed all in black, ready to mourn. She looked around, confused. “Is this the right place for a funeral?” she whispered.
Benjamin stood and approached her. “Do I know you, young lady?”
She introduced herself. “I’m Alice. I came to mourn my fiancé Jake’s father, Benjamin.”
Benjamin froze. “My son has a fiancé? He never told me.”
Alice’s eyes widened. “Wait, you’re Jake’s dad? But you’re… alive!”
Benjamin smiled sadly. “Yes, and that’s the truth no one else knows. You see, I sent those letters pretending to be dead because I wanted to see who really cared. But none of my sons came. They only asked about my money after hearing I’d ‘passed.’”
Alice listened closely as Benjamin explained his plan. “I want to leave my fortune to the son who truly deserves it. But it hurts—my own children seem only interested in my wealth, not me.”
She shook her head sadly. “I even tried to convince Jake to come to your funeral, but he refused. He said he’d just check with the lawyer later to see what he’d inherit. I fought with him about it and decided to come here myself, against his wishes.”
Benjamin’s eyes glistened with tears. “You came here to mourn me even when your fiancé wouldn’t? Why?”
Alice smiled gently. “My parents taught me to respect and care for elders. Someday, we’ll all be old like you. It breaks my heart to think a child could abandon their own parent.”
Benjamin’s tears began to fall. “Thank you, Alice. You’ve given me hope.”
Two days after the funeral, Benjamin’s sons received another shocking letter—this one from their father himself. They were stunned to learn he was still alive. Even worse, he had written a new will leaving his fortune not to them, but to someone else.
“What? How could he do this?” they yelled at each other. “Why did the lawyer say he was dead?”
They rushed to their father’s home, only to find Alice there, caring for him. Jake was furious.
“Alice! What are you doing here? I thought you’d leave after the funeral. And Dad’s alive? What’s going on?”
Benjamin didn’t want to hear their excuses anymore. He ignored their pleas to change the will. Alice, furious at Jake, broke off their engagement.
She threw his ring on the floor and said, “We’ll all grow old someday. Jake, how would you feel if your child treated you like this? Money means nothing compared to the love and respect of family. I can’t stay with someone who abandons his own father.”
Alice stayed with Benjamin until his last days. She cared for him out of kindness, never expecting anything in return.
When Benjamin died peacefully in his sleep months later, Alice received a call from the family lawyer.
“Mr. Parker left a will naming you the sole heir to his fortune and business,” the lawyer said. “It was his last wish. Please come to my office.”
Alice was shocked. She never cared about Benjamin’s money, but she accepted the responsibility to honor his wishes.
Meanwhile, the five sons grumbled bitterly, resentful that their father had disinherited them. But really, they had brought this on themselves.
What can we learn?
Never take love for granted. Benjamin’s sons knew their father loved and missed them, but they only contacted him when they wanted money. They saw him as a cash machine, not a father.
Money isn’t everything. What truly matters is the love we earn and give in our lives. Alice believed this deeply. She stood up for what was right, fought with her fiancé, and came to mourn a man who wasn’t even her blood, because love matters more than money.
