My Son Hit Me for Asking Him to Stop Smoking Near Me — Then He Discovered I Owned Everything He Thought Was His
My Son Hit Me for Asking Him to Stop Smoking Near Me — Then He Discovered I Owned Everything He Thought Was His
PART 2
Thomas Foster woke up to the sound of voices.
For a few seconds, he didn’t know where he was.
The ceiling above him was unfamiliar. The room smelled like antiseptic, not the old wooden cabinets and engine oil that had followed him for most of his life.
Then the pain returned.
His cheek burned. His chest felt heavy. His fingers trembled as he tried to move.
A nurse noticed immediately.
“Mr. Foster, please don’t try to sit up too quickly. You had a severe asthma attack. Your oxygen level dropped dangerously low.”
Thomas slowly closed his eyes.
The attack hadn’t surprised him.
The betrayal had.
“How long was I here?” he whispered.
“About six hours. Someone called emergency services.”
Thomas looked toward the door.
“Who?”
The nurse hesitated.
“Your daughter-in-law.”
For a moment, Thomas almost laughed.
Brenda?
The same woman who watched him collapse and joked about it?
But then the nurse continued.
“She seemed angry at first. She said she didn’t have time to stay because she had errands. Your son came in later.”
Thomas stared at the ceiling.
Of course.
Even when they saved him, they were only worried because a dead father was more inconvenient than a sick one.
A few minutes later, a familiar voice entered the room.
“Dad.”
Kevin stood there.
But something had changed.
The confidence was gone.
His eyes moved around the hospital room nervously.
Thomas didn’t answer.
Kevin stepped closer.
“I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”
The sentence was so empty that Thomas almost didn’t recognize his own son.
Not “I’m sorry.”
Not “Are you okay?”
Only an excuse.
“I lost my temper.”
Thomas looked at him.
“Your temper didn’t force your hand, Kevin.”
His son looked away.
For the first time in years, Kevin looked uncomfortable.
“Dad, we need to talk about something else.”
Thomas already knew.
Money.
It was always money.
“What is it?”
Kevin rubbed his hands together.
“The apartment.”
Thomas said nothing.
“We’ve been thinking about renovating. Brenda wants a bigger kitchen. And since you’re getting older, maybe it’s time you moved somewhere smaller.”
Thomas stared at him.
Moved.
The word sounded polite.
But he knew what it meant.
They wanted him gone.
The man who bought the place.
The man who paid the bills.
The man whose name was still on every document.
“You want me to leave my own home?”
Kevin sighed.
“Dad, don’t make this emotional.”
Thomas almost smiled.
After everything, his son still thought he was the problem.
“I see.”
Kevin leaned forward.
“You know, Brenda and I have been struggling. The apartment is basically our life now. We’ve built everything here.”
Thomas looked out the window.
Everything.
That word stayed in his mind.
Because Kevin had built nothing.
He had simply been living inside his father’s sacrifice.
“Kevin,” Thomas finally said quietly.
“Yes?”
“Do you know whose name is on the deed?”
His son froze.
A tiny crack appeared in his expression.
“What are you talking about?”
Thomas turned back.
“The apartment. The commercial buildings. The land outside the city.”
Kevin’s face changed.
“What buildings?”
Thomas watched his son’s confusion grow.
For fifteen years, Kevin had believed his father was just an old mechanic barely surviving on retirement money.
But that was never the truth.
After Joyce died, Thomas had made a decision.
He sold his repair shop, invested carefully, and bought properties while everyone around him thought he was simply saving every penny.
He never told Kevin.
Not because he wanted to hide his success.
Because he wanted to see if his son loved him without knowing what he had.
And now he had his answer.
“I wanted to believe you would take care of me because I was your father,” Thomas said.
Kevin swallowed.
“Dad…”
“But you treated me like a burden.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Kevin suddenly became nervous.
“So… what happens now?”
Thomas looked at him.
There it was.
Not concern.
Fear.
“What happens now?” Thomas repeated.
“Yes. I mean… with the apartment.”
Thomas slowly reached into his hospital bag and pulled out a folder.
The folder that Paula Jenkins had brought to the hospital after Thomas called her from the ambulance.
Kevin stared at it.
“What is that?”
“My decision.”
The door opened.
A woman in a gray suit walked inside.
“Mr. Foster.”
Kevin turned.
“Who are you?”
The woman smiled politely.
“Paula Jenkins. I’m Mr. Foster’s legal representative.”
Kevin’s face went pale.
Legal representative?
Why would his father need one?
Paula placed several documents on the table.
“Mr. Foster has updated his estate plan.”
Kevin stopped breathing.
“What?”
Thomas looked at his son.
“I spent my entire life giving you everything before you even asked.”
He paused.
“But the moment I needed the smallest bit of kindness, you showed me exactly what I was worth to you.”
Kevin shook his head.
“No, Dad. Wait. You’re angry. You don’t mean this.”
Thomas looked at him calmly.
“I have never been more certain about anything.”
Paula opened the folder.
“The apartment lease arrangement, the property ownership documents, and the inheritance instructions have all been revised.”
Kevin’s voice became louder.
“You can’t do this!”
Thomas looked at him.
“My property. My money. My decision.”
For the first time in years, Kevin had nothing to say.
But then Brenda suddenly appeared at the hospital door.
She had heard everything.
And unlike Kevin, she didn’t look guilty.
She looked terrified.
Because she finally understood something.
The old man they mocked.
The old man they pushed aside.
The old man they thought had nothing.
Was the one person standing between them and losing everything.
Brenda walked slowly into the room.
“Thomas…”
He didn’t look at her.
“Don’t.”
Her voice softened.
“We didn’t know.”
Thomas finally turned.
“That was the problem.”
His eyes were filled with disappointment, not anger.
“You only cared when you found out I had something to lose.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Paula closed the folder.
“There is one more matter, Mr. Foster.”
Thomas looked at her.
“What is it?”
She placed another document on the table.
“The security footage from the apartment building.”
Kevin’s face changed instantly.
“What footage?”
Paula looked at Thomas.
“Your son and daughter-in-law need to see what they did while they thought nobody was watching.”
Thomas stared at the document.
And suddenly, the room became silent.
Because the truth was not finished.
The money.
The properties.
The inheritance.
Those were only the beginning.
The footage would reveal something that would change Kevin’s life forever.
TO BE CONTINUED… PART 3
