On Celine’s funeral day, her son Michael ran to her grave, and with tears in his eyes, he screamed, “Mom, please save me! They’re about to take me away!” Just as he was weeping, he saw something weird inside the coffin.
Right from her childhood days, Celine was diligent and focused. She had a rough start in life, but with determination and hard work, she climbed the ladder of success. Now at 32, she owned several cars, houses, and a successful real estate and catering business. Wherever she went, she turned heads, and young ladies looked up to her. Everyone would always say, “Hey, look, there goes a smart and beautiful woman.” No one would ever believe that this vibrant woman once slept under bridges, walked barefoot, and went days without food.
But despite how diligent Celine was, there was one area where she didn’t make the best of choices – relationships. She had an innocent heart and believed no one would intentionally hurt her. She also loved so hard and trusted easily. Unfortunately, men used all that against her. To make matters worse, she couldn’t tell when someone genuinely loved her and when they were faking it. She was naive and kind to a fault.
After several betrayals, Celine was beginning to give up on love. Perhaps it wasn’t meant for her. Well, it was at this point that Lucas showed up in her life, and oh boy, he seemed like the answer to her prayer. The duo started as business partners, and within a few weeks, Lucas expressed his undying love for Celine.
“He’s the man I have always longed for. I loved you even before I met you,” Celine told Lucas one night.
Every morning, this man would send flowers, chocolates, or love notes to Celine’s office. Despite how sweet Lucas was, Celine’s younger brother Simeon was against the relationship.
“Why are you so blind that you can’t see that he’s faking it? He’s only after your money,” he scolded her one morning.
Simeon loved his sister so much, and it hurt him to see her getting used and dumped by men. When they were younger, Celine sacrificed her sleep time, food, money, and everything else for her little brother. Now he felt the least he could do was to protect her from bad guys.
However, whenever Simeon warned Celine about Lucas, she just replied that Lucas was different. “It’s real this time around. He sincerely loves me, and I want you to be happy for me,” she would tell him.
Celine and Lucas continued dating, and they built something meaningful, strong, and beautiful. Then one day, Lucas went over to Celine’s office and asked her to come to the hallway. When she got there, what she saw made her burst into tears.
There was a band of musicians playing her favorite song. Right then, Lucas went down on one knee and said, “I will be the happiest man on earth if you agree to be my wife, Celine. Will you marry me?”
Celine’s heart pounded in her chest. She heard voices in her head screaming, “Say yes,” but deep down, she felt she wasn’t ready. She didn’t even see the proposal coming, and that’s understandable because they had just been together for a month. Wasn’t it all happening so fast?
Regardless of her inner confusion, Celine found herself screaming, “Yes, yes, Lucas! I will marry you!” After all, wasn’t love about taking risks? So, she decided this was her cross to bear, and she believed everything would be fine.
Later that evening, Celine broke the news to her brother, and he congratulated her. Maybe he was wrong after all. Maybe Lucas was a good man, Simeon thought.
When the wedding was four months away, Celine found out that she was pregnant. She was as happy as a lark. She couldn’t believe she was about to make Lucas a father. She decided to break the news to him in an elaborate way, so she made him a special dinner.
After they ate, Celine put on some music, and they danced. Afterwards, she kissed his forehead and told him, “I will be right back.” Then she went into the room and came out with a covered plate. She stood in front of him and asked him to open the plate.
When Lucas did, his eyes widened in terror. He couldn’t believe he was staring at a positive pregnancy test. With a big smile on her face, Celine said, “I am carrying your child.” However, nothing could have prepared her for Lucas’s next action.
He suddenly became enraged, and he flung the plate. “That thing in your stomach doesn’t belong to me! Are you crazy? I’m married. I have a wife whom I love so much, and I have four adorable kids who mean the world to me.”
Celine couldn’t believe her ears. For a few seconds, she thought she was on a stage, and she and Lucas were acting. It
wasn’t until she saw him walking out of the house while hitting everything on his path that she realized it was reality.
When Lucas got to the door, he warned her to stay out of his life. Celine sank to the ground and wept her soul out. Luckily for her, during this trying period, her brother stood by her side.
In due time, Celine delivered the baby boy Michael, and she and her Simeon showered him with a lot of love. Michael didn’t care that his father wasn’t part of his life. He was content with the care and affection that he got from his mom and uncle. Even when the kids at school laughed at him for not having a dad, he didn’t let their words get to him. He told them that his mom’s love was enough for him.
Celine and Michael did everything together. The doting mother knew she could survive any obstacle with Michael by her side. Unfortunately, when Michael turned eight, Celine fell ill. Sadly, a trip to the hospital revealed she had liver cancer. She was put on chemotherapy.
Unfortunately, as months passed by, all treatments stopped working, and the doctors told Celine to say goodbye to her family. Some months later, Celine passed away in the presence of her beloved son and younger brother.
That same day, while Simeon was talking to the doctors, Lucas suddenly showed up at the hospital, and he walked up to Michael.
“Hey, son, I know I haven’t been in your life. I’m so sorry, but your mother is evil, and she didn’t let me see you. I’m here for you now,” he said.
But Michael hid behind Simeon and screamed at Lucas to go away. “You’re not my dad. I don’t know you!” he yelled.
The next day, Lucas visited the hospital unannounced and barged into Michael’s room. He grabbed the little boy’s hands and tried to take him away, but Simeon stopped them and asked Michael to go upstairs.
After the boy left, Lucas let out a devilish laugh. “I will take everything your sister worked for, including her son,” he said and waved the paper in Simeon’s face.
The paper was a fake will which Lucas had created, and that gave him full access to Celine’s fortune. Simeon couldn’t believe Lucas would go that far, but he was determined to win the battle. But for now, he wanted to focus on his sister’s funeral rites.
Two days later, friends and family gathered in the house to bury Celine. She was placed in a coffin, and everyone took turns to say their goodbyes. Just then, Michael suddenly heard some men screaming in the hallway, and he rushed over there.
Once there, he saw his uncle and Lucas arguing, and he eavesdropped on their conversation. Michael heard Lucas loud and clear when he said, “That boy is mine. I’m going to take him away, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
The little boy couldn’t imagine living with such a wicked man. He was so scared, so he rushed to his mother’s coffin and placed his hand around the casket.
“Mom, please save me. That strange man wants to take me away. Save me,” he wept.
A few seconds later, his eyes caught a document inside the coffin. Although he couldn’t see the paper clearly, he saw his name written on the front page. The little boy quickly suspected that something was wrong, and he asked that the casket be opened.
There was chaos everywhere, and the priests stopped the funeral rites. Some people even tried to pull Michael away from the coffin. Just then, Simeon showed up and asked the pallbearers to fulfill the boy’s wish.
As soon as they opened the coffin, Michael rushed there, grabbed the document, and gave it to his uncle. Simeon couldn’t believe his eyes, and he recognized what the document was. It was his sister’s original will.
As it turned out, Lucas had bribed Celine’s lawyer to give him the original will before the funeral started. He also bribed one of the pallbearers to drop the will in the casket so Celine could be buried with it.
Lucas was later arrested by the police and sentenced to jail. According to the original will, Celine made Michael her heir. He would have access to the properties and businesses once he turned 18, but before then, Simeon would be in charge of everything.
