Millionaire Thinks His 11-Year-Old Daughter Is at Summer Camp, Discovers She Lives in a Nursing Home — Story of the Day

Anthony sent his daughter, Mia, to a business summer camp for young kids, hoping she would one day inherit his business. However, he learned something shocking at the end of the summer about her living situation and how sneakily clever she was.

"Good luck, sweetie. Have fun at camp!" Anthony told his daughter, Mia, at the beginning of summer when she left for summer camp at a unique program for young entrepreneurs in Madison, Wisconsin. They would teach her critical details about opening and maintaining a socially conscious business, which was definitely the future.

Anthony thoroughly believed that his only daughter would be perfect to inherit the successful company he built from the ground up. She was only 11, but she was bright, cunning, and already knew how to negotiate for what she wanted. It's crazy how fast kids grow these days, he thought as he waved at the pre-teen.

Mia insisted on taking the bus there, even though her father had many cars and could take her quickly. She wanted to be independent immediately, and he was so proud of her.

"Dad! It's not a big deal. I just… changed my plans."

He would miss her terribly, but this was an investment in her future. Still, it wasn't easy to witness how fast she grew, especially because her mother and the love of her life died when she was just seven. Anthony tried his best to fulfill the role of mother and father on his own, but sometimes, he thought it was not enough.

And then he witnessed how mature, secure, and self-sufficient she was and thought he was not doing half-bad. Of course, he had a housekeeper, Marina, who watched her and became her only mother figure. But it was not the same as having a mother, and Anthony knew that well.

Regardless, he was looking forward to the end of summer and hearing all about the camp from Mia. Hopefully, she would learn a lot but hace just as much fun, making new friends and developing her skills.

***

"Mia! I'm going to pick you up from the camp. I'll wait for you at the entrance, ok?" Anthony called his daughter from the car's Bluetooth. It was the end of summer camp and he was already on his way to pick her up. He didn't want to wait for her to get home on her own using the bus. He missed her too much.

"What? No, Dad! I told you I would come home on my own," Mia replied almost angrily.

"Mia, I miss you! I can't wait. It’ll be faster in my car, and then we can go shopping together. How does that sound?" he insisted.

"Well… dad… hmmm," she trailed off.

"What's going on?" Anthony asked, frowning at his daughter's tone.

"Dad, I'm not at the camp. I haven't been all summer," Mia confessed with a note of guilt.

"WHAT? WHERE ARE YOU?" he yelled, almost swerving from the shock of her words.

"Dad! It's not a big deal. I just… changed my plans. But you can come pick me up here. I'll text you the address and I'll explain everything," she said and hung up the phone.

Anthony pulled over and allowed other cars to pass as he waited for the text. His phone pinged, and he frowned at the location. It was a place where an 11-year-old didn't belong.

"Why would she be at a nursing home?" he asked, putting the address into his car's GPS and following the directions, which led him to Oak Park Place Madison East.

His heart raced as he parked and got out of his car. Mia was at the entrance with her bags, forcing a smile. Her guilt showed clearly on her face, and Anthony frowned at her.

"Mia, what the hell is going?" he asked, grabbing her bags and turning towards his car.

"Wait! Before we leave, I want to show you around," Mia suggested, still guilty but with a sneaky grin. What was she up to?

Mia led him into the nursing home, and Anthony saw how the staff greeted her and introduced themselves to him. Mia knew every corner of the facility and most residents, who all grinned at the young girl. Some of them even asked for help. As the tour continued, Anthony grew more impatient, still unaware of why her daughter spent the summer there.

"Mia, for God's sake! Just tell me what's going on!" he demanded desperately.

"Ok, ok," she replied and took into what looked like the employee's break room. "I've been living here all summer."

"Why?"

"Dad, I don't want to go into business," she confessed, taking a deep breath. "I want to be a nurse. I remember exactly how much the nurses at the hospital helped Mom when she was sick. They were even better than the few doctors who came and went in a second. That's what I want to be."

"Ok, honey. That's a fine dream. I wouldn’t dream of making you do something against your will. But that still doesn't explain what you're doing in a nursing home," Anthony told her, kneeling to face her directly.

"I found this volunteer program, and I called, and I pitched them the idea of making it a summer program. The workers here are nurses too. They accepted, and I… well, I forged your permission. They didn't question it…mostly because I gave them a fake number and told them you were probably too busy to answer when they tried to call. I also told them I was 15, and I think they believed it too." Mia was rushing her words, and her mouth twisted with her sneakiness.

Anthony breathed. "Young lady… you can't do that," he said. He closed his eyes and shook his head, thinking about his daughter's craziness. She had lied to these people, but it was all because she wanted to help and start her dreams early. He couldn't help but be proud of her, even if he had to scold her for lying. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you wouldn't allow it. You seem so keen on me going to business school, and I didn't know how to tell you the truth," she answered, and Anthony felt awful.

"I'm sorry you felt that way. I've been too pushy, and I apologize for not letting you express yourself better. I'll do better in the future. But you can't lie to me about your location. You're 11. I have to know where you are at all times. Something could've happened."

"But Dad –"

"I'm not done," he interrupted. "That said, what you did is pretty impressive. You cheated the system, but all because you wanted to volunteer. But never again, young lady. You understand me?"

Mia nodded rapidly with a big smile, knowing she was already out of trouble. "Yes, Dad!"

"Ok, now. Introduce me to some people, and we'll arrange for you to come here to volunteer after school. But I'll be taking you here and picking you up," Anthony added. He got up and took her hand.

Now that Anthony knew what was going on, he enjoyed the tour and how other employees came to tell him great things about his daughter. How much she helped. How much the residents loved her. How talented she was. Of course, he knew all this already. But his chest was filled with pride by the end of the day when they got in their car.

As they settled in the vehicle, Anthony thought about researching good nursing schools in the area and how they would work to ensure that she became what she wanted to be. It would've been nice if she inherited and managed his business, but her dreams were more important.

What can we learn from this story?

• Your dreams for your children might not be the same as their dreams. Some parents have certain expectations of their kids. But you have to let them be whoever they want to be.
• Have honest and open communication with your children, so they never lie to you. Mia lied to her father, thinking he might disapprove of her dreams. He felt awful that she felt she had to lie to him so he apologized and promised to do better.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a millionaire who discovered that his only daughter lives in a trailer with twin babies.

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. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.