An unusual letter provides the catalyst for one woman to uncover a secret kept from her for years, and receive unexpected wealth.
Gregory locked the door to the small corner shop where he’d worked as a cashier for the last twenty years. His coat was too old and thin to keep the chill from his bones as he walked home, but he smiled nonetheless. It had been another great day at work.
Gregory’s wife had never understood how he found satisfaction in what she called a low-level job. She’d left him because she felt he lacked ambition, but he still had his daughter.
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Linda was standing in the foyer of the apartment block where she and Gregory lived when he entered the building. She had also recently started working as a cashier and still wore her uniform. In one hand, she held a letter.
“What have you got there, Linda?” Gregory asked as he approached her.
Linda looked up, startled. “You tell me, Dad. I’m too scared to open it.”
Gregory frowned and took the letter from his daughter. The name of a legal practice was printed on the envelope.
“Why would a lawyer be contacting me?”
Gregory shrugged. He tore the envelope open and studied the papers inside. His jaw dropped, and his fingers began shaking as he read.
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“It’s bad, isn’t it?”
“It’s… strange. According to this letter, somebody has left you a business comprising three restaurants, and it’s worth nearly four million dollars.”
“What!” Linda snatched the letter from Gregory’s hands. “It’s got to be a scam.”
“I did this to find out whether you’re a good person.”
“There’s an easy way to find out.” Gregory leaned over to indicate the lawyer’s phone number on the letterhead.
Linda called the lawyer and arranged a meeting for the next day. Gregory accompanied her.
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“This has got to be a mistake,” Linda told the lawyer when they entered his office.
“I don’t know anyone who would leave me a business.”
The lawyer shook his head. “There’s no mistake, Miss. My client, Matthew Markham, was very particular in his instructions.”
Gregory felt as though he’d been electrocuted. “Please, say that name again.”
“Matthew Markham.”
Gregory understood everything then. He hung his head and burst into tears.
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A few months earlier…
Matthew shivered with anxiety as he approached the cashier. He set down the packet of gum and stared at the man who rang it up. The nametag on his chest said ‘Gregory.’ He was the right man.
“Sir? Are you okay?”
“Fine.” Matthew realized he’d zoned out and handed the cashier a five-dollar bill. “But I do need to talk to you. It’s about Linda.”
The man looked up sharply at the customer who had just uttered his little daughter’s name. “Is she in some kind of trouble?”
Matthew shook his head. “Do you have a few minutes, please?”
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Matthew and Gregory arranged to meet at a diner nearby during Gregory’s lunch break. While Matthew waited, he thought over the revelations that had brought him to this point.
A few days earlier, he’d been discussing his terminal illness with a close friend, Jeremy, and lamenting that he had no heirs to whom he could leave his restaurant business.
Then Jeremy dropped a bombshell on him: Matthew had a daughter he didn’t know about. His ex-girlfriend had died in childbirth, and the baby was placed up for adoption.
Matthew immediately hired a detective to track her down. Days later, he was finally sitting down with Gregory, the man who’d adopted his daughter.
Matthew explained to Gregory that he was Linda’s biological father and then asked the question that was foremost in his mind:
“Does Linda know she was adopted?”
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“No, and you can’t tell her, sir.” Gregory looked at him pleadingly. “My wife left me a couple of months back, and I can’t lose Linda too. Please, don’t take her from me.”
Matthew was torn. He wanted to know his daughter but didn’t want to cause problems for the man who’d raised her. He also didn’t want to upset his daughter’s life by introducing himself when he only had a few months more to live.
“What is she like?” Matthew asked. “Is she a good person?”
Gregory smiled. “She’s an amazing person. She’s kind and treats everyone equally.”
Matthew nodded. He was starting to get an idea.
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The next day, Matthew disguised himself as a poor man and went to the store where Linda worked as a cashier. He took a few essential food items to her checkout and waited while she rang them up.
“I’m sorry, Miss,” he said once she told him the cost.
“I can’t afford all of that. I’ve only got ten dollars.”
“Don’t worry about it, sir.” Linda smiled at him. “I’ll cover the rest.”
Matthew left the store and returned a week later. This time, he wore his finest suit. He chose several of the most expensive items in the store and again went to Linda’s checkout.
“Get out of the way,” Matthew shouted as he pushed his way to the front of the queue. “I’m in a hurry and need to be served fast.”
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He set his purchases down in front of Linda and waved his hands at her. “Hurry up, girl, I’ve got an important meeting to attend.”
“Then you’ll have to tell them you’re going to be delayed.” Linda pushed his purchases aside and gestured to the woman behind him. “You’re next, ma’am.”
“I need to be served first!” Matthew exclaimed.
“That’s too bad, sir. I don’t allow anyone to push to the front of the queue, no matter how important you think you are.”
Matthew grinned from ear to ear. “I’m glad you said that.”
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He reached for a bouquet of yellow lilies and placed the cash to pay for them on the counter. “These are for you, Linda. My name is Matthew, and I did this to find out whether you’re a good person.”
“Do me one favor, please, and remember my name when you see these lilies.”
Present day…
“Matthew is the name of your biological father, Linda,” Gregory said. “You’re adopted.”
“Why did you never tell me?”
“I’m so sorry. I never wanted you to feel bad about it. Then your mother left, and I was afraid you’d leave me too if you knew I wasn’t your real father.”
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Linda hugged him. “I’d never do that, dad.”
The lawyer cleared his throat. “As I was saying, my client bequeathed his three restaurants to you, his sole heir, when he passed away a month ago. These restaurants are each worth over a million dollars.”
“Mr. Markham also had a special request. He wanted me to give you something.”
The lawyer left the room and soon returned with a bouquet of yellow lilies, which he presented to Linda.
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Linda cradled the flowers in her arms. “I understand now.” She turned to Gregory. “He came into my shop once and asked that I remember his name when I see yellow lilies.”
Gregory placed a hand on Linda’s shoulder. “I’m sure he was very proud of you, Linda, and will continue to be proud of you from heaven.”
What can we learn from this story?
Treat people equally, and you will be rewarded. Matthew was encouraged to leave his business to Linda when he saw that she was a good person.
One can find happiness in a simple life. Gregory and Linda were both happy to work as cashiers and earn an honest living.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who discovers the house she’s been cleaning for the past ten years belongs to her.
This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life.
Royal Bombshell: Prince Harry’s Deep-Seated Hatred for Father Charles Revealed!
Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William, are currently not getting along well. Rumors suggest that William, who will be king one day, doesn’t even want to talk to Harry on the phone. There are reports that William and his wife, Kate Middleton, want to try to fix their strained relationship with Harry.
In his memoir titled “Spare,” Harry talks about feeling like he was less important to the royal family compared to William, who is the future king. Their lives were also marked by tragedy when their mother, Princess Diana, died when they were young.
Their once-close brotherly bond has changed, and Harry has even referred to William as his “archnemesis.” A new report reveals that Harry also has issues with his father, Prince Charles, about something related to his brother.
William and Harry had a happy childhood together, but everything changed on August 31, 1997, when Princess Diana died.
After losing their mother, William and Harry had only their father, Charles. Despite being part of the royal family with its rules and traditions, one would expect them to grieve privately like anyone else. But Harry claims this wasn’t the case when Diana died.
In his memoir, Harry remembers the morning he found out about his mother’s death. He was just 12 years old when Charles came to his room and told him, “Darling boy, Mummy’s been in a car crash.”
Harry recalls feeling shocked and says Charles didn’t comfort him much. Charles mentioned Diana’s injuries and how she didn’t survive. Harry remembers Charles putting a hand on his knee and saying, “It’s going to be OK,” but he didn’t hug him.
Harry also mentioned feeling guilt about his mother’s death and how he and William walked around Kensington Palace after her funeral.
“After our mother’s death, there were 50,000 bouquets of flowers for her, and we were there shaking people’s hands, smiling,” he continued. “I’ve seen the videos, and I noticed something strange – the people we shook hands with had wet hands. It turned out they were wiping away tears.”
Princess Diana’s death shocked the entire world. But at that time, many forgot that William and Harry, two young boys grieving for their beloved mother, had to maintain a public appearance.
The two brothers walked behind their mother’s coffin to Westminster Abbey.
Later, Harry criticized the decision for them, aged 12 and 15, to walk through London with the world watching.
“My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more watched on TV,” he told Newsweek in 2017. “I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
Harry and William used to have a strong bond. When Harry turned 21, he said they were very close and could “talk about anything.”
“He is the one person on this earth who, I can actually really, you know, we can talk about anything and we understand each other and give each other support and everything’s fine,” Harry said.
Today, everyone knows that Prince Harry and his brother Prince William are not getting along. William reportedly doesn’t answer Harry’s calls, and they were already having problems before Harry and Meghan decided to leave the royal family.
In his book “Spare,” Harry wrote about a night in 2019 when he and William had a physical fight at his home in London. Harry said William had criticized Meghan, calling her “abrasive,” “rude,” and “difficult,” which Harry believed was just repeating what the media said.
Things got worse, and Harry described how William grabbed him, tore his necklace, and knocked him to the floor.
“He put down his water, called me a name, and then attacked me. It happened so fast. He grabbed me, tore my necklace, and I fell onto the dog’s bowl, which broke and cut my back. I lay there stunned, then got up and told him to leave,” Harry wrote.
Harry also said William encouraged him to fight back, remembering how they fought as kids. But Harry refused. Later, William returned looking sorry and apologized. Harry said he had visible injuries on his back.
Harry even called William his “archnemesis.”
About a year after Harry and Meghan left the royal family, Queen Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip, died. During that time, Harry and William still had a lot of tension between them. Meghan didn’t attend the funeral, but Harry did. The days around the funeral were intense and emotional for the family.
During Prince Philip’s funeral procession, Prince Harry and Prince William didn’t walk side by side. News reports said Queen Elizabeth II decided they shouldn’t walk together. Instead, their cousin Peter Phillips walked between them.
The Mirror reported that the Queen made sure every detail of her husband’s funeral was just right. She wanted the focus to be on honoring his remarkable life without any distractions.
Some reports suggested it was actually William who asked for Peter Phillips to walk between him and Harry.
Before the funeral, Charles, Harry, and William had a private meeting. This was just a month after Harry and Meghan spoke with Oprah Winfrey in a big interview.
Unfortunately, the meeting didn’t go well. Harry was upset about how it turned out. The unplanned two-hour talk at Windsor Castle right after Prince Philip’s funeral felt like a surprise attack to Harry by his father and brother.
“A source told Radar Online that Prince Harry was surprised by an unplanned meeting with his dad and brother after Prince Philip’s funeral. The source said it wasn’t a good way to start making peace.
In the past few years, Prince Harry and his brother have met only a few times. Recently, Harry and Meghan traveled from the US to England for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
During the funeral, Prince William and Kate walked together with Harry and Meghan at Windsor Castle. They greeted people and saw the many flowers and tributes for the late monarch.
When Prince Charles became king last year, Meghan Markle did not attend the ceremony. Harry went alone to the UK, but he returned to California shortly after the coronation at Westminster Abbey.
Father’s Day was on Sunday, June 16. Reports say Harry tried to arrange a call with his dad for the special day. According to royal expert Tom Quinn speaking to the Mirror, Harry’s attempts were met with hesitation from his father, advised by Camilla not to do anything that might upset King Charles.”
A royal expert says Harry wants to send a nice message to his father, whom he loves. But their issues aren’t private because their lives are very public.
“He knows everyone is watching to see if he’ll reach out to his dad. He wants to ignore their problems and send a warm message,” explained Tom Quinn.
Harry has tried to fix things, but his relationships with his father and brother aren’t good. Quinn said Harry wants to make up, but there’s a big problem: he feels his dad, King Charles, favors William over him.
“It’s important to remember Harry loves his dad, but he’s upset because Charles seems to side with William in family arguments,” Quinn told the Mirror.
What do you think about this? Who’s responsible for the problems between Harry and the royals? Share this article on Facebook and let us know your thoughts!
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