Son Orders to Demolish House with His Mom Still inside If She Refuses to Leave — Story of the Day

An elderly woman's only son is determined to sell her house after she signed it over to him and shows up with a demolition crew. Karma punishes him strongly.

Ronald Hartley was an ambitious man, but unfortunately, his abilities didn't match his ambitions. Success hadn't come his way, and now at 43, he discovered that everything he wanted was out of reach. Or was it?

One afternoon he received a phone call that would change his life and turn his mother Constance's last days into a nightmare.

That evening, he dropped in on his elderly mother unexpectedly. Constance was now 81 and had been a widow for five years. She lived alone in the rambling old house she and her husband had bought back when they believed they'd have a big family.

Unfortunately, it was not to be, They ended up having only Ronald, and he was born late in Constance's life. Constance was delighted to see her son who rarely visited.

"Hello mom," Ronald said smiling. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, Ronny!" Constance said happily. "I've missed you so much..."

"Oh, I've just been so busy, you know how it is..." Ronald said.

Constance smiled sadly. "Of course, you are an important businessman..."

"Listen, mom," Ronald said. "I've been worrying about you, knocking around in this huge house on your own. I was thinking you should move into a home."

Constance was outraged. "NO!" she said sharply. "We've had this conversation before, Ronny, I'm not moving."

"But mom," Ronald said gently. "You're 81 and your health isn't what it was."

"I'm fine," cried Constance. "And I'd be even better if my son wasn't trying to get me out of my home!"

"But mom," protested Ronald. "I just want what's best for you..." Constance just got more and more upset and ended up collapsing. Ronald took her to the hospital and cleverly pressed the advantage.

Constance believed her son would protect her.

He sat by Constance's hospital bed and held her hand. "Mom, I'm sorry. I know how important being in that house is to you. I just worry about you. I think you should sign the house over to me so I can take care of things for you while you're ill."

Constance agreed, so the next day Ronald brought a notary to his mother's bedside and she signed over her house to him. Two days later, Constance was feeling a lot better so the doctors discharged her.

Constance settled back into her routine, but things had changed and not for the better. Ronald came to visit. "We've had a generous offer on the house, mom," he said cheerfully. "Over $5 million, because the plot is so large."

"I'm not selling Ronny," Constance said. "So forget about it."

"Don't be so selfish mom," Ronald said coldly. "That money would get me back on my feet and I could propose to Agnes."

"Agnes? That sly girl? She's too young for you and all she wants is money!" Constance said. "I'm not selling this house."

"Yes, mom, you are," said Ronald. "Or rather -- I am. It's my house now. You signed it over."

"You can't do that!" gasped Constance. "I trusted you!"

"Well, I'm doing it. The demolition crew arrives tomorrow, so pack your things," Ronald said callously.

"Demolition!" Constance whispered with tears in her eyes. "But why!"

"The developer wants the land, mother, not the house," Ronald said. "So it's time to move on and move out."

But when Ronald arrived with the demolition crew the next day, Constance hadn't packed. "I'm not leaving!" she cried defiantly. "This is my house!"

Ronald cajoled and persuaded to the best of his ability but Constance wasn't moving. Finally, he snapped. "Use that bulldozer!" he screamed at the workmen. "Bring the house down around the old bat's ears!"

The workmen stepped back shaking their heads. They couldn't believe Ronald could be so heartless as to destroy his mother's house while she was in it. Ronald had no such qualms.

He jumped into the control cabin of the bulldozer and advanced on the house. Constance fell on her knees weeping. "Stop! Please!" she cried. "I'll get out!"

That afternoon, carrying a suitcase and her family albums, Constance entered the retirement facility her son had arranged for her. It was as he'd said, very comfortable, but it wasn't home.

Constance was deeply depressed at the revelation of Ronny's character and that hurt her more than the loss of her home. Ronald did marry Agnes, but he never visited her.

When Constance passed away three years later, Ronald sent a check for the funeral. The sale of Constance's house made Ronald wealthy, and he and Agnes had two lovely children.

Life was good, at least until Ronald started getting older. His wife left him for a younger man, and his son and daughter spent less and less time at home. They too married, and Ronald was left on his own.

Then one day, his son and daughter arrived for a visit. They looked around his luxurious home with greedy eyes. "This house is much too big for you, dad!" said his son.

"Yes, and you're all alone all day..." said his daughter. "We're worried about you. We think you should sell the house and move into a nice assisted living facility."

Ronald found himself signing a power of attorney so his children could sell his house and moving into the very same retirement home that had sheltered his mother in his last days.

He didn't know it, but he ended up in the same room Contance had lived in. Ronald looked around. Is this what life is all about? When my children were small and helpless I loved and protected them. Now that I'm old and helpless they abandon me.

Then Ronald realized: "This is what I did to my mother! I taught my children to be this cruel and ungrateful!" It was a bitter realization Ronald would carry to his grave.

What can we learn from this story?

• Love your children, but look out for yourself. Constance believed her son would protect her, and ended up regretting having trusted him with her house.
• Karma is a boomerang, so be careful that you don't end up receiving what you dish out -- which is what happened to Ronald.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman who discovers that her father and her fiance have been deceiving her for years.

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