Elder Sibling Promised to Take Brother Home from Shelter Soon, They Meet Only 27 Years Later – Story of the Day

When their father died, a young man promised his brother he would take him away from the kids' shelter, but he had lied. Twenty-seven years later, he learned something shocking about his brother and went to find him.

"Peter, your father has left you all his money and the house so that you can take care of Luke," a lawyer told Peter when he returned to his hometown in Seattle. He had been at college in New York when his father, Noah, passed away, and he had to go back and settle everything. He also had to figure out what would happen to his ten-year-old little brother.

"Thank you, Mr. Rosenblatt," Peter told him, shook his hand, and left the lawyer's office.

***

Unfortunately, Peter and Luke had no other family in the country. They had some in Europe, but they barely spoke to them. So, when their father passed unexpectedly, a social worker took Luke with her to the local kids' shelter to await his return.

Peter went to visit Luke after seeing the lawyer.

"Surgery? What? No!" Peter croaked from his bed.

"When can I come back home?" Luke asked his big brother after hugging him.

"Listen, Luke," Peter started, kneeling to see him eye-to-eye. "I have to finish settling some things and figure out what to do about college. But I'll come to pick you up from here as soon as I can. Alright?"

"We'll go to New York together?" Luke said, his eyes shining. He knew his brother went to college on the other side of the country and thought it was cool. He had often asked to visit, but they hadn't done so before their father died.

"Maybe, or I'll transfer here. I don't know yet," Peter shook his head. "You have to be patient for a while and listen to the staff here. Be good, ok?"

"Sure!" Luke nodded eagerly. "I can't wait!"

Peter stood up and walked away, waving goodbye. That was the last time Luke saw his big brother for many years.

***

Twenty-seven years later…

Peter's life did not go as planned, although he had enough money to succeed after he betrayed his little brother. When he left that shelter, he decided he didn't want to live in Seattle and put the house up for sale. He grabbed all the money from his father's estate and left for New York. He told himself he would return for Luke, but he didn't.

He would put it off and off. I'll go back after college, he told himself often. But even after graduation, he just didn't, and for years, he had to ignore the calls of the social worker until he finally blocked her.

With the money from his childhood home sale and his father's estate, he started a business and lived in luxury, chasing parties, vices, and women. However, everything went downhill at some point. His business flopped, a friend stole some of his money, and none of the women he was dating wanted anything to do with him. He was in severe debt and needed an out.

However, Peter decided to rush to Seattle when he discovered that his late father's brother, Logan, had returned from Europe 7 years ago and found Luke.

Apparently, Logan had given his little brother $100,000, a sum supposed to be divided between his nephews Peter and Luke as part of an investment. Peter had to find his brother and demand half of that money to escape his financial hole.

"What are you doing here?" Luke scoffed after answering the door. "Did you finally come back to take me out of the shelter?"

"Luke, please. I had a lot going on," Peter looked down, rubbing his head. "I need to talk to you."

"You need money," Luke said, his grimacing getting more pronounced as he crossed his arms. "You have a lot of nerve."

"Well, you owe me!" Peter snapped, looking up, but started coughing. He was planning to act ashamed of his actions to get Luke's pity, hopefully. But his brother was acting like a brat.

"Listen to your lungs. I bet you're a chain-smoker. Listen to me closely, big bro. I don't owe you a single penny, and you'll never see any kind of money from me," Luke replied in a menacing tone.

"Uncle Logan's money!" Peter yelled when his coughing fit ended, desperation dripping from his voice. "Half of it is mine! I'll sue you for it! You can't keep it!"

"I'll sue for half of our house and half of dad's estate," Luke continued, his tone steady and deadly. "Although I bet you don't have a single cent left. You must have spent it all on bars and women back in New York. Get out of here, you loser, and never come back!"

Luke slammed the door in Peter's face, but his big brother pounded it and yelled until he threatened to call the cops.

Afterward, Peter started following his family, demanding money. He went to Luke's wife's workplace and asked her to talk reason to his brother. Then, he went to see Luke's kids at their school, almost getting himself arrested, but he ran away.

Finally, he reappeared at Luke's house and cried like a baby.

"Please, Luke. Don't be like me. Please, help me. It's almost Christmas, please," Peter begged, trying to get Luke to comply, but the younger brother was not falling for this act.

"I will file a restraining order against you if you don't leave my house right now. You should also leave Seattle and never come back, just like you did 27 years ago," Luke threatened. "This is the last sympathy I'm offering you since you're my brother. And it's a lot more than you deserve."

"Please, please, please," Peter wailed and started coughing again. However, the coughs did not stop this time, and he collapsed on Luke's porch.

"Linda, call 911!" Luke yelled as he rushed to his big brother, knowing that this was not more of his acting.

***

"Mr. Brown is going to require surgery and treatment. We can't find any records of his insurance, and I need that information before the doctors come and discuss those options with you," the nurse told Luke after the hospital ran tests and examined Peter.

They were in his hospital room now, and Peter was still unconscious. Luke frowned and rubbed his forehead, but his brother interrupted them.

"Surgery? What? No!" Peter croaked from his bed and started coughing again. The nurse rushed to help him put the oxygen mask back on, which stopped his coughing fit. But Peter began to shake his head. "I can't have surgery. I have things to do."

"Peter, don't be an idiot. You are sick. You need this to survive," Luke sighed, crossing his arms.

Peter's eyes wandered between Luke and the nurse until he finally looked at the ceiling. "I can't… afford it. I have so much debt already," he said and refused to look at anyone in the room.

"I'll leave you two to talk," the nurse said and left.

Luke pulled up a chair next to his big brother's bed and sat. "You're getting this surgery, and I'm… paying. I'm not like you, Peter. I will not abandon my brother during the worst moment of his life. Uncle Logan's money is sitting there intact. All that I have right now is because I earned it from scratch. I had nothing. You left me with nothing. But I will not do the same to you," he said tensely, stood, and walked away to talk to the nurse.

Peter sobbed heavily in his hospital bed, regretting all his awful choices of the past 27 years, and if he could go back, he would do so. But he couldn't, and now Peter had to live with the fact that his brother would only save him because he was a better man than him.

The surgery went well, and the treatments were harsh because Peter had lung cancer. Luke spent almost all of Uncle Logan's money on him, as he also decided to settle some of the debt Peter had from his bankrupt business.

However, Peter did his best to atone for his mistakes and paid off whatever was left while working from home and recovering. He offered to babysit their kids. He gardened for his little brother. Eventually, he went into remission and could work harder, saving up as much as possible.

Many years later, Peter paid Luke back for everything, including his half of their father's house and estate. Finally, he was at ease.

What can we learn from this story?

• A good man will never leave his sibling hanging. Despite what Peter did, Luke was not like him and would not abandon him, so he paid for everything to save Peter's life.
• Try your best to atone for your mistakes; only then will you find peace. Peter did his best to work hard and save money while recovering to pay his little brother for his horrible actions.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about poor siblings who took care of orphans in shelters and later received money in their bank account.

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