The moment I saw our front door ajar and trash scattered across the porch, I knew something was horribly wrong. But nothing could have prepared me for the chaos inside or the wild turn of events that followed.
I sat at the edge of the bed, staring out the window, letting the soft hum of the city fill the silence. My husband, Ethan, was busy packing our suitcases in the other room, but my mind was elsewhere. I couldn’t stop thinking about how different our lives were compared to his brother, Stan.
A thoughtful woman staring out the window of her room | Source: Midjourney
Ethan and I had built our life from the ground up. We weren’t rich, but we weren’t struggling either. We had this modest, cozy house, a place we’d filled with love and countless memories. It was our sanctuary.
Despite coming from a wealthy family, Ethan had always wanted to make his own way in the world. He worked hard, never asking for handouts, not even when his father, Howard, practically begged him to join the family business.
A middle-aged businessman standing in his office | Source: Midjourney
Stan, on the other hand, well, he was another story entirely. He thrived on the luxuries that came with their father’s money. I mean, Stan had never even had a real job outside of working for their dad.
And even there, he didn’t really “work.” He just showed up, smiled, and enjoyed the perks of being the boss’s son. Fancy cars, exclusive parties, designer clothes. He loved it all.
But it wasn’t just the material things. Stan was reckless. He had this sense of entitlement that bordered on delusion. If he wanted something, he took it; no questions asked.
An entitled man standing next to his fancy car | Source: Midjourney
I sighed, pushing those thoughts away. Ethan poked his head into the room. “You ready?” he asked, zipping up the last suitcase.
“Almost,” I said, forcing a smile. “Just thinking about how nice it will be to get away for a bit. We both need this.”
He smiled back. “Yeah, we really do.”
We were about to leave for a week-long vacation. A rare escape from our everyday lives.
A closeup of a person putting a passport in a black bag | Source: Pexels
It was the first time we’d been away for this long in years, and we’d trusted Stan with our house. Just a simple favor: feed the cat, water the plants, and check the mail. I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea, but Ethan insisted.
“Stan will be fine,” he’d said a few days ago, sensing my hesitation. “It’s not a big deal. He can handle it.”
I had my doubts, but what could go wrong in a week?
But when we pulled into the driveway seven days later, my stomach dropped.
A shocked woman | Source: Midjourney
The front door was slightly ajar, and there were cans, bottles, and trash littering the porch.
“Ethan…” I whispered, gripping his arm. “What happened?”
His face darkened. Without a word, he pushed open the door, and we stepped inside. The air smelled sour: a mix of stale beer, smoke, and something burnt. I blinked, trying to make sense of the scene in front of me.
The living room was unrecognizable. Furniture was overturned, broken glass crunched beneath our feet, and dirty dishes were scattered everywhere.
An extremely messed up living room | Source: Midjourney
The walls? They were smeared with what looked like food: pizza sauce, mustard, and who knows what else.
“What the hell?” Ethan’s voice trailed off as he moved further into the house. “Stan! What did you do?”
I followed him into the kitchen, and that’s when I saw it — the blackened stove, the melted cabinets. Something had exploded. There was no doubt about it.
“First of all, congrats on getting a new house.”
“Ethan,” I gasped, “this is insane!”
He ran his hands through his hair, pacing back and forth. “How could he do this? He was supposed to just watch the house, not throw a frat party!”
A closeup shot of an angry man | Source: Midjourney
I grabbed my phone, fingers trembling as I dialed Stan’s number. It went straight to voicemail. I called again. Nothing.
“Stan!” Ethan yelled into the void. “Answer your freakin’ phone!”
Panic bubbled inside me as I watched Ethan try to piece together what had happened. We had trusted him. “We need answers,” I muttered, pulling up my mother-in-law’s number.
She picked up on the second ring. “Aubrey, honey, how was your trip?” she asked, her voice calm and sweet, oblivious to the storm brewing on our end.
A woman using her phone | Source: Midjourney
“Celeste,” I interrupted, “do you know where Stan is? We just got home, and the house… it’s destroyed!”
I could feel my heart racing as I clutched the phone, waiting for Celeste to explain what on earth had happened to Stan. My mind was running wild with scenarios, but nothing could have prepared me for her next words.
“Oh, you don’t know?” Celeste said, her voice far too calm for the situation. “First of all, congrats on getting a new house, and second, you won’t be seeing Stan for a while because, well, he’s unavailable.”
A middle-aged woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney
“Unavailable?” I repeated, not quite understanding. “What do you mean?”
There was a pause before she continued, almost as if she was gathering her thoughts or maybe trying to sugarcoat what she was about to drop on me.
“After one of his infamous parties,” she said, her tone a blend of exasperation and something that almost sounded like relief, “Stan forgot to turn off the gas in your kitchen. It caused a small explosion.”
I felt like the floor had been ripped out from beneath me. “An explosion?! Celeste, our kitchen is destroyed!”
An extremely messed up kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“I know, sweetheart, I know.” She sighed as if talking about a stubborn child who had made yet another mess.
“Your father-in-law found Stan drunk and out of his mind in your house. The explosion wasn’t big, but it scared him enough to finally take action. Stan’s been, let’s just say his days of playing executive are over. Howard’s had enough.”
I pressed the phone harder to my ear, my blood boiling. “What do you mean ‘had enough?’ What exactly did Howard do?”
An angry and stunned woman talking on her phone | Source: Midjourney
Celeste didn’t hesitate this time. “Howard demoted him. Stan’s not going to be his right-hand man anymore. He’s going to be a truck driver for the company. Howard’s sending him on a month-long haul. It’s supposed to teach him some responsibility.”
I blinked, speechless. Ethan stood frozen in the kitchen doorway, staring at me with wide eyes, waiting for me to explain what his mother had just said. “Wait, wait,” I stammered. “He’s sending Stan on a cross-country trip? Driving trucks?”
A closeup shot of a man driving a truck | Source: Midjourney
“Yes,” Celeste replied, and I could hear a hint of satisfaction in her voice. “It’s about time someone put him in his place. I guess that explosion was the final straw.”
Ethan took a step closer, his eyes narrowing in disbelief. “What is she saying?”
I covered the mouthpiece for a second. “Stan’s been demoted to a truck driver,” I whispered, still processing the words myself.
“What?” Ethan’s jaw dropped, his face a combination of shock and anger. “That’s unbelievable.”
A furious man | Source: Midjourney
But Celeste wasn’t done. “Oh, and there’s one more thing, dear. Your father-in-law was planning to buy Stan a new house, you know, something extravagant, as a reward for his work. But after all this mess, he’s decided it’s yours instead. Howard said you two deserve it more.”
I nearly dropped the phone. “What?”
“You heard me right,” Celeste said, her tone softening. “It’s yours. The papers will be sorted out soon. Congratulations, Aubrey.”
A white and gray wooden house | Source: Pexels
I stood there in stunned silence, my hand shaking as I gripped the phone. Ethan looked at me, confusion and hope battling on his face. “What did she say?”
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “The house, the one Howard was going to give to Stan, is ours now.”
Ethan’s eyes widened. “What? Are you serious?”
A man looks a little startled while talking to someone | Source: Midjourney
I nodded slowly. “Yeah, she said we’re getting the house. Karma, I guess.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The reality of what had just happened was sinking in.
Stan had trashed our house, left it in ruins, caused an explosion, but somehow, we had come out of it better off. It didn’t make sense, but I wasn’t about to question it.
Ethan finally let out a breath he’d been holding and leaned against the counter. “I can’t believe this. I mean, it’s what he deserves, but I didn’t expect this.”
A depressed and lonely man | Source: Midjourney
“Neither did I.” I shook my head, my mind racing. “I was so angry at him, Ethan. I still am. But this is bigger than that. He’s been living this reckless life for years, and now he has to face the consequences.”
Ethan nodded slowly, the tension in his shoulders starting to ease. “He does. But I still don’t know how we’re supposed to clean this up.” He gestured to the wreckage around us.
I laughed, despite everything, a little hysterical. “Well, at least we have a new house to look forward to.”
A woman laughs hysterically | Source: Midjourney
Ethan cracked a small smile, finally. “Yeah. A new house.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I guess we should call Dad and thank him, huh?”
I exhaled slowly. “Yeah. But first, I think I need to sit down.”
We both collapsed onto the one piece of furniture that wasn’t broken: a chair in the corner. For a minute, we just sat there, surrounded by the mess Stan had made, trying to wrap our heads around what had just unfolded.
Ethan reached over and squeezed my hand. “I guess karma’s got a way of working things out.”
A man smiling faintly | Source: Midjourney
“Yeah,” I said quietly, staring at the chaos around us. “It really does.”
As the shock wore off, I realized that while Stan had wrecked our home, he hadn’t destroyed us. If anything, we were walking away with more than we ever expected. A new house. A fresh start.
And maybe, just maybe, this was the wake-up call Stan needed too.
“Let’s just hope he learns from this,” Ethan muttered.
I nodded, though I wasn’t holding my breath. “We’ll see.”
A loving couple | Source: Midjourney
Do you think karma worked its magic here? Let’s hear your take!
While you’re busy contemplating your response, check out another exciting story: Returning from a blissful Hawaiian vacation, Lisa and her two young children were shocked to find an unwelcome guest comfortably settled in their home. Faced with an uncooperative squatter and little help from the police, Lisa was forced to take drastic measures to reclaim her family’s sanctuary.
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.
Millionaire Demolishes Old Man’s House, Unexpectedly Sees His Childhood Photo among Ruins — Story of the Day
A rude millionaire who believed money could buy anything demolished a poor old man’s house to build a mall. While checking the ruins later, he accidentally found his childhood photo among the rubble.
Can a person’s greed for riches blind them so miserably that they destroy someone else’s dreams to build theirs? In July 2021, Florida-based real estate tycoon Elliot Morris happened to shatter a poor old man’s dreams to fulfill his pursuit of wealth.
Elliot was looking for a perfect landscape to build a deluxe mall in the city when his eyes fell upon old Joe Brooke’s land. The young builder loved the location and fixed his mind to raising his new mall there.
He decided to tear down the old man’s house on the plot. When old Joe objected to it, Elliot saw him as nothing more than a thorn in his way that was easy to get rid of…
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
“Please, I beg of you. I don’t have anybody, and this house is the only treasured memory I have of my late wife,” Joe begged Elliot, who had visited with his men. “I have nowhere to go. Please don’t make me homeless.”
“How did you get my mom’s photo?” the man asked old Joe. “That’s me with her. Do you know my mom? What is your relationship with her?”
But Elliot turned a deaf ear to the poor old man’s pleas. “Look here, old man. I already talked to the mayor, and he is on my side. I’m bringing this thing down in two weeks. All you’ve got is 14 days to pack your stuff and leave with whatever money I give you. Is it clear?”
Poor Joe was worried. He refused to accept a dime in exchange for his beloved house and kept crying. But Elliot was far from kind and walked away, grinning. “Two weeks and I’ll be back,” Joe heard the rude rich man’s faint voice from outside.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
Joe’s house was a bit farther away from his clustered neighborhood, so nobody stepped forward in his favor. The two weeks were nothing short of nightmarish for the poor old man. He hoped something would happen and change the rich man’s mind. He anticipated a miracle and never packed his things. But before he knew it, the day for the demolition had arrived.
“Please, I beg you! Please don’t destroy my house!” old Joe pleaded with Elliot and his men, who arrived two weeks later with heavy machinery outside his house to tear it down.
“Didn’t I tell you to pack your things?” Elliot retorted. “It’s not my problem anymore. Here, take this check and leave. I don’t have time to listen to your silly, old stories.”
Elliot ordered one of his men to take old Joe to the nursing facility. He handed out the check for the house, but the old man refused to take it.
Before leaving, a teary-eyed Joe looked at Elliot and said, “You’ve changed a lot, young man. Money has blinded you and ruined your soul…You cannot buy everything with money.”
“What rubbish! Take this old man from here,” Elliot ordered. He brushed Joe’s words as nothing and walked further to watch the house being torn down. Joy filled his heart as he saw the bricks and roof chipping away from the building, crashing onto the ground.
“I’ll be back in a while. Keep working, and do not touch anything until I arrive,” he said, driving past the dusty house in ruins.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
That evening, Elliot returned to the demolished spot to celebrate his feat. “Getting rid of that old thorn was so easy!” he exclaimed as he walked over the broken bricks.
Just then, he stumbled upon the broken glass of a photo frame. He looked at the photo and gasped in shock.
“Mom? What is her photo doing here?” he said, picking up the picture. Elliot dusted it and realized it was an old photo of his mom with a baby.
“That’s me,” he exclaimed again. “But what is our photo doing in this old man’s house? I have to find out,” he said and immediately drove to the nursing home to see Joe.
“You? Why have you come here? Aren’t you happy yet?” the old man cried after seeing the young builder. “What more have you come to destroy?”
Joe refused to look at Elliot, who held his hand and showed him the photo he’d recovered from the demolished ruins.
“How did you get my mom’s photo?” he asked. “That’s me with her. Do you know my mom? What is your relationship with her?” Elliot was furious. He had known that his mother was a single parent, and finding her picture in Joe’s house raised many questions in his mind. “Tell me…how do you know my mother?”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
Joe, who remained silent, finally spoke out, revealing something Elliot never knew.
“I found your mother Samantha on the road with a baby in her arms 30 years ago,” Joe said. “I was on my way home from my wife’s funeral and found your mom hopeless and drenched in the rain while trying to protect you.”
As Elliot heard this, tears slowly started to fill his eyes. “Then what happened?” he curiously asked.
“I took her in and gave her shelter. Her boyfriend, your dad, had kicked her out for another woman,” Joe narrated. “Samantha lived in my house for five years, and I treated her like my daughter.”
“But if she lived with you, why did she move out? We had a bigger house,” Elliot asked, still doubtful of old Joe’s revelation. “Is there something I’m missing?”
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Pexels
“I bought her a new house and helped her start a small business from my savings. She grew into a successful businesswoman but never forgot this old man. Samantha often visited me until she died ten years ago,” Joe explained. “I had also been to her funeral, but who would notice this poor, old man. You had grown into a successful, rich man, and I was happy to see how she raised you.”
At this point, Elliot’s heart broke. He recalled his mother once telling him about a loving father who was behind her success. But all this while, he had no idea that she had been talking about old Joe.
Guilty and heartbroken, Elliot decided to mend his mistake. The next day, he put up an “Under Construction” board on Joe’s property and ordered his men to build a new house there. In less than four months, a beautiful home replaced the one he demolished.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
Elliot gifted this house to Joe and apologized to him for being so ignorant and forgetful of his past. He also promised to do his best to return the old man’s kindness. But the humble man he was, Joe forgave the young builder and refused any form of help.
“You are my grandson, and I will accept only this house from you, and nothing more. I do not expect any material help from you other than your love,” Joe said, creating a massive impact on Elliot. “You are always welcome to visit this old man as my grandson, not as a wealthy man filled with guilt. Even your mom wanted to help me, and I had told her the same!”
Joe happily moved back to his new house and lived a modest life. He inspired Elliot and taught him that money perishes but not compassion and love.
In the end, Elliot built a couple of retirement homes for older adults in the city. He helped people in need and never tore down another house that belonged to someone else unless they were willing.
For illustration purposes only. | Source: Unsplash
What can we learn from this story?
- Do not ruin someone else’s happiness to build your dreams. In Elliot’s efforts to build his mall, he destroyed old Joe’s beloved house. He did not consider the old man’s pleas and ruined his happiness to fulfill his own.
- Create something useful for others when you get a chance. When Elliot realized his mistake, he apologized to Joe and built a house for him. And because he had the resources, he did his best to help the needy.
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