Joe came back home with his fiancée, feeling both exhausted and relieved. Just hours earlier, he had placed his mother, Nora, in a nursing home. It was one of the hardest decisions of his life, but he believed it was for the best.
As soon as they pulled up in front of his house, Joe’s heart froze. His suitcases were lined up neatly on the doorstep, and strangers were moving furniture into the living room. On the lawn, two little girls were laughing and playing, chasing each other with dolls.
Joe slammed the car door shut and shouted, “What the heck is going on here?” He stormed up the porch steps, his chest tightening. “Hey, who are you… and what are you doing in my house?”
One of the men carrying a heavy box looked up and smiled as if this was the most normal thing in the world. “You must be Joe! I knew you’d show up. But… this isn’t your house anymore! Your mom sold it to us. Here are the papers. And, well… there’s your stuff.”
The man pointed casually at Joe’s luggage stacked on the porch like trash left out for collection.
Joe’s jaw dropped. “Sold? What are you talking about?”
Emily, his fiancée, snatched the documents out of the man’s hand. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and her face turned red as her eyes darted over the pages. She shook her head in disbelief, then whipped around to face Joe.
“It’s true,” she hissed. “Your mother actually sold the house. You fool! She tricked you right under your nose… and you had no clue? Everything is ruined now.”
Joe’s throat tightened as guilt weighed heavy on him. He reached for her hand. “Emily… don’t say that. I don’t understand why Mom did this, but we still have each other. We can figure things out, together.”
Emily yanked her hand away. Her eyes burned with rage. “There’s no more WE, you loser! Forget about me.” She ripped the engagement ring off her finger and threw it onto the ground.
The sound of the ring hitting the wooden porch stabbed Joe’s heart. His entire body went numb.
“Wait,” Joe stammered, running after her as she stormed toward the gate. “What about our baby?”
Emily spun around and laughed cruelly. “Baby? You’re so stupid! There is no baby. I made it up. Now get out of my way.”
Joe staggered back, his legs weak. “Wha—what do you mean? Emily… Emily? Stop!” he begged. But she marched out of the gate, never looking back.
His world collapsed in seconds. Joe dropped onto the porch, burying his face in his hands. That’s when he noticed an envelope tucked beneath one of the boxes. His hands trembled as he picked it up. The handwriting on it was his mother’s.
He tore it open.
**“Dear Joe,
I’m sorry this happened. I wish I never had to take such drastic steps. But you left me with no other choice. It all started the day you first brought Emily home…”**
Joe’s mind replayed everything as he read his mother’s words.
Weeks ago, Nora had been sitting in her armchair, weak and breathless, when Joe introduced Emily. He was glowing with excitement.
“It’s been just three weeks, but it feels like we’ve known each other for ages,” Joe had said proudly. “That’s why I insisted Emily move in with me.”
Nora had tried to stay calm, though a coughing fit betrayed her shock. “This weekend? You’re proposing this weekend?” she asked, her pale face hidden behind the oxygen mask.
“Yes, Mom,” Joe insisted. “You’re the one who taught me to fight for love. Please trust me.”
Later that night, Nora overheard Emily whispering in the bathroom, her voice sharp and cold. “That old crone and her oxygen machine… she’s a thorn in my way. But Joe is madly hooked on me. I’ll get rid of her soon. Just a little sweet talk and he’ll put her in a nursing home. Then the house will be mine.”
Nora froze in horror.
The next day, her fears grew when Joe said, “Mom, Emily needs money for her business. If we sell the house and you move into a nursing home, we can invest. I promise I’ll buy it back for you later.”
Tears had welled in Nora’s eyes. “I don’t want to leave my home,” she whispered.
But Joe pressed on, blind in his love for Emily.
In her letter, Nora described following Emily one evening to a café. Her heart broke when she saw Emily kissing another man. She recorded it, desperate to show Joe proof.
“Emily is cheating on you,” Nora had told him outside the café, pointing at the window.
But Emily was clever. “That’s my cousin,” she cried, wiping fake tears. Then she pulled out a positive pregnancy test and smiled. “I was saving this as a surprise… Joe, you’re going to be a daddy.”
Joe had melted instantly, hugging Emily tightly while glaring at his mother. “Stop it, Mom! You’re confused. She’s only ever been kind to you.”
From that day, Nora knew she couldn’t win with words. Joe was blinded. The only way to protect him was to sacrifice herself. She agreed to the nursing home. She agreed to sell the house. All to trap Emily before it was too late.
Back on the porch, Joe clutched the letter with shaking hands.
“I’ve been such an idiot!” he cried out loud. Guilt stabbed him like knives. He jumped up and rushed to the car, heading straight to the nursing home.
“I need to see my mother, Nora Brady,” he told the receptionist, out of breath.
The receptionist’s face turned grave. “Thank goodness you’re here. We’ve been trying to reach you. Your mother had respiratory failure and was rushed to the hospital.”
Joe’s world tilted. He sped to the hospital, praying the whole way.
When the doctor finally walked out of the emergency room, Joe sprang up. “How is she, doc? When can I see her?”
The doctor sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, Joe… your mother didn’t make it.”
“No!” Joe’s scream echoed down the corridor. “Her condition was under control… she was stable… how did this happen?”
The doctor explained softly, “Her health had been worsening. I advised more aggressive treatment, but she never returned for it.”
Joe collapsed onto a chair, sobbing uncontrollably.
Then his phone buzzed. A notification from his bank lit up the screen. Joe blinked through his tears. His account had just received a transfer—$500,000.
It was the money his mother got from selling her beloved house. Even in her last days, she had been protecting him, saving him from Emily’s betrayal, and leaving him one final gift.
Joe wept harder than ever before.