Sarah Biren
Sarah Biren
March 2, 2024 ·  5 min read

Rich Old Man Excludes His Children from Will and Leaves His Inheritance to Triplets from Orphanage – a Short Story

Blood is thicker than water but families need more than blood to stick together. They need to maintain their bonds with each other; they need communication, love, and trust. However, sometimes families can be driven apart by insidious secrets and conflicts. Many relationships have been destroyed because of a will, particularly because of money. The Carlyle family was going in that direction when the father changed his will to give his inheritance to three orphans. But when his children go to investigate, they discover his heart-breaking secret.

Discovering the New Inheritance

Graham Carlyle secretly changed his will without telling his family. Only after his death would his two children learn they get no inheritance from him. However, his daughter, Caroline, was dating his lawyer’s son. He somehow got wind of what happened and warned Caroline.

She was livid and immediately told her brother Ralph. They were expecting the money to live comfortably after their father passed without working too hard. They were burning to know, if not them, then who was the money going to? So they snooped further and found an address of the new recipients in the will. The names of the new heirs were Kyran, Kevin. and Kyle Manovich.

Caroline and Ralph took the limousine to the address to find that it was an orphanage. They found the Manovich brothers, who turned out to be four-year-old identical triplets. Their mother had died the previous year. After meeting the boys, it didn’t take long for the siblings to come up with a plausible theory.

They must be Dad’s kids,” said Caroline. “Why else would he leave all of his money to them? They’re only four so he must’ve cheated on Marcy!”

The Affair

Marcy was Graham’s second wife, whom he married three years after Caroline and Ralph’s mother had died of cancer. The siblings didn’t take well to their new mother figure although they got used to her over time. Marcy was beautiful and kind, and she was almost 20 years younger than her husband. While she wanted to have children of her own, she never did, leaving no other child for Caroline and Ralph to split their inheritance with. Or so they thought when the will was still in their name. 

That wasn’t by Marcy’s choice. She and Graham went to fertility specialists all around the country with no success. Finally, one doctor sat Marcy down and told her she could never have a baby. The news flung Marcy into a deep depression that took years to recover from. That had happened five years ago, meaning the triplets must’ve been conceived while Marcy was still in the throes of her grief. Still, Caroline and Ralph knew that their father loved Marcy dearly. He wouldn’t want to risk her leaving him, which she might if she learned about his affair. Suddenly, the siblings had the perfect solution to get their inheritance back.

Related: After a man passed away, the will he left behind pitted his two girls against each other, as one received the house they grew up in while the other got a dirty dish – a short story.

Trying to Reclaim the Inheritance

They found their father in his home office. They wore sweet smiles and greeted him with simpering, honeyed voices. Their father recognized their tones immediately and asked what they wanted. 

“We were worried about your health,” said Caroline. “After all, my boyfriend mentioned you saw his father about revising your will…”

Graham stood up angrily. “So he poked around in my business and now you want to know what happened.”

We worked for you for twelve years!” exclaimed Ralph. “We deserve our inheritance!”

Graham laughed. “I promoted you too to high positions in my business. You did very little to earn your large salaries. But my will ensures you will maintain both your positions and your salaries. That should set you up for life if you keep showing up for work.

“What about your grandchildren?” Caroline was desperate for another argument.

Neither of you indicated that you want to have children. But if you do, we can discuss it. And your salary should help cover the expenses of a family. You could also try to make your own fortune as I did when I was your age.

Out of options, Ralph burst out, “We know about the triplets. And if you don’t put us back into the will, we will tell Marcy!”

In the silence that followed, someone just behind the door cleared her throat. It was Marcy, entering with the cup of coffee she had made for Graham. She had accidentally come just in time to hear Ralph’s threat.

Graham Confesses

Graham told his children to go, leaving him alone with his wife, who was on the verge of tears. Then he told her about a business trip he took soon after their last specialist appointment. When Marcy had fallen into her dark depression. He had too much to drink and met a woman there.

Marcy was furious. While she was grieving not being able to give Graham a child, he had an affair with a woman who became pregnant right away. He didn’t even know about the pregnancy, or that he had fathered triplets, until three months ago when her lawyer contacted her. But she calmly told Graham to sleep in the guest bedroom that night. He tried to protest that the affair was a one-time thing but she was done with the conversation.

Marcy kept her distance the following week, and Graham didn’t know how to approach her. Meanwhile, Ralph and Caroline kept their own distance, hoping their father would forget that their actions had caused Marcy to turn on him.

Becoming a Mother

Graham waited for Marcy to speak with him again. Finally, one afternoon, he came home to find her playing catch with three little boys in the garden. He was astonished but Marcy had found her peace. She still loved him, so she loved his children. And she hoped that they could become her children too. Graham continued to apologize, saying he didn’t deserve her, which was clear to both of them.

But as time passed, they managed to mend their relationship, becoming incredible parents to the triplets. Graham did forgive Ralph and Caroline for their role in the fiasco, but he refused to change their inheritance. In the end, they got nothing for their efforts but Marcy became the wonderful mother she always wanted to be.

Keep Reading: Struggling Man Inherits $60 Million Estate After DNA Test Proves He’s The Rightful Heir

This story was inspired by an original piece of fiction. Any similarities between this story and actual people are purely coincidental.