Poor Woman Adopts Autistic Boy No One Wanted, Not Knowing His Late Dad Left Him $1.2M – Story of the Day

A woman adopted a boy at a shelter, but his birth mother showed up years later with a heartbreaking story and wanted to reconnect with her son. The adoptive mother allowed the relationship until a lawyer visited her house with the astonishing truth.

"Hello?" Marlene said, after answering the door and seeing a stout, strange woman standing on her porch.

"Are you Mrs. Garrison?" the woman asked with an arrogant smile.

"Yes…" Marlene hesitated.

"Good. I'm Georgia, and I came here to see my son," the stranger said as if her words were not the most ridiculous thing Marlene had ever heard.

"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" Marlene frowned and crossed her arms.

"My son. You have him now. I heard from the shelter. I want to see him now," Georgia said, lifting her chin.

The poor adoptive mother felt abandoned and terrible, but she told herself often that it was for the best… until a lawyer showed up at her doorstep.

"You can't show up like this. My son is 15 years old, and he has a right to decide if he wants to see his birth mother." Marlene shook her head and sighed at the strange woman.

***

Years ago, Marlene went through a terrible time giving birth to a baby boy, who died shortly after she delivered him. The doctors said she had neglected her and her son's health throughout the pregnancy, leading to some complications. They were lucky to save her in the end.

She had never known such intense pain, and it took a long time for her to recover. But working at the local children's shelter helped, as she connected with the kids and helped them get adopted by prospective parents.

One day, a boy arrived, Nigel, but no one was interested in him due to his autism. Marlene could not take how the boy would cry when other kids found homes, so she eventually adopted him.

She researched autism and signed Nigel up for suitable therapies, and the boy grew up quite nicely. He was high-functioning and only had trouble with specific social interactions.

All Marlene knew about her adopted son's background was that he lived alone with his father until the man died from an unexpected heart attack. No one wanted him, so he ended up at the shelter.

Marlene never expected a woman claiming to be his birth mother would be standing at her front door, and Georgia's attitude gave off all kinds of red flags.

***

"I'm allowed to see him! He is my son!" Georgia demanded.

"Where have you been all these years?" Marlene almost shouted, but she felt Nigel's presence behind her.

"Mom? Who is that?" he asked, and suddenly, Georgia burst into tears.

"My son… my dear son! There you are!" she cried, raising her arms and rudely stepping into Marlene's house.

Nigel stepped away from her, as he was not fond of skin contact, particularly with strangers. But that made Georgia wail even more. Finally, Nigel stepped behind Marlene as the hysterical woman fell to the couch.

She started telling them a heartbreaking story about how her ex-husband—Nigel's birth dad—kicked her out of the house and refused to allow her contact with her son, although she tried many times. He eventually threatened to call the police, so Georgia had to stop her attempts to reconnect.

However, she only recently learned that her ex had passed years ago and started to search for her child. "And now I find him, and he doesn't even know me! He doesn't want to hug his mother!" Georgia wailed some more, and Marlene was exhausted.

"Ok, let's calm down and talk things reasonably, please," she said and told Nigel to sit down.

The woman talked directly to the teen, toning down her hysterics. She wanted a relationship with her son and spoke about how much she had missed him. She also showed them a picture of him as a baby, which confirmed her words. However, Marlene was still wary of her attitude and personality.

After a long time, Nigel looked at Marlene as if asking what to do. "Nigel, honey. It's up to you. If you want to have a relationship with Georgia, you can. I won't be mad," Marlene assured him.

Nigel agreed although he wasn't too sure. They started slowly with visits to Marlene's house and eventually outings to the mall and the park. Georgia seemed to have money and bought him a lot of gifts, like the newest PlayStation and many games.

That made Marlene jealous because she didn't have that kind of money. Nigel loved his new presents, and Marlene thought he might be better off with his birth mother. She might be able to afford better therapies, so Marlene asked her about it.

Georgia promised she would look into that immediately but never did. Instead, she would ask for more time until she eventually said Nigel should start sleeping at her house every once in a while.

"I already have a room prepared for you. What do you think?" Georgia suggested, still with an air of arrogance that Marlene couldn't quite figure out.

"Ok," Nigel nodded, not sensing what Marlene did. She wanted to protest, but it was her son's decision.

It started with a few nights every other week then it grew into weekends, and eventually, Nigel began to stay two weeks with Georgia and two weeks with Marlene.

The poor adoptive mother felt abandoned and terrible, but she told herself often that it was for the best… until a lawyer showed up at her doorstep. It was Nigel's 16th birthday, and he was at Georgia's house for her planned party. Her son seemed happy with his birth mother, so she didn't want to interfere.

"Mrs. Garrison? Good. I was Nigel's father's attorney," the man said. He introduced himself as Mr. Borgmann, and Marlene invited him into her house.

"Of course. What can I help you with, Mr. Borgmann?" Marlene asked as they sat in her living room.

His words… were unbelievable. Mr. Borgmann was there to speak to her about Nigel's inheritance. Apparently, he was entitled to one when he turned 18.

"Inheritance?"

"Oh, yes. Mr. Lungren left Nigel around $1.2 million, but it's in a trust for him to receive on his 18th birthday. I thought it would be best to reach out and talk to his mother about it," he explained.

"Well, maybe you should talk to Georgia. Nigel is there now," Marlene sadly suggested.

"Georgia? Mr. Lungren's ex-wife? Why is he there?" the lawyer asked, appalled, so Marlene explained how she showed up about a year ago on her doorstep. "No! No! That can't be! You can't allow her into your son's life!"

"What's going on?" Marlene questioned, confused by the attorney's outrage.

"Georgia left Mr. Lungren when Nigel was diagnosed with autism. She used terrible slurs when she left, and my client took it very hard. It was too painful, and I'm sure it led to his heart condition," the lawyer revealed. "I can't believe she showed up again. Why would she?"

Marlene's mother instincts rushed through her body, and suddenly, she understood everything. Why Georgia's attitude grated her and why she always felt like something was wrong with her. "Mr. Borgmann, is there any chance that Georgia knows about this inheritance?" she asked.

"Well, it was arranged as soon as Nigel was born… oh… you think…" Mr. Borgmann trailed off as Marlene grabbed her coat and rushed to her car.

"Close the door when you leave, Mr. Borgmann!" she yelled and drove off.

At the party, Marlene's heart broke when she saw Nigel sitting to the side, sad. No one was talking to him. In fact, there were no kids his age invited at all. Georgia was laughing with a couple of well-dressed people.

"This is not a teen's birthday party… this is all about that horrible woman wanting clout," Marlene told herself as she rushed to Nigel. She pulled him aside and told him about the lawyer's visit.

Although Nigel struggled to understand people's motivations or actions, he grasped what his mother said.

"So, she only wants the money?" he asked, frowning.

"I think so, dear. But if you love her and think I'm wrong, I'll leave and let you enjoy your party," Marlene assured him.

"I want to go home. Our home," Nigel said after thinking for a few minutes.

Luckily, Georgia was so distracted that she didn't even notice when they left the party.

When she showed up in a huff the following day at Marlene's house, Nigel turned her away.

"I don't want anything to do with you," he said, shoving all the presents Georgia gave him into her hands. "I only have one mother, and that's not you. And also, you're not getting any money."

Georgia's eyes stared at them with vitriol as her mask slipped at last. She turned away and got in her car. She tried to reach out many times, and eventually, Marlene discovered that she didn't have any money. She had been pretending and had been charging everything in credit cards.

She gave up when Nigel made it clear that she would not see a penny from him, and Marlene had never been prouder of her son.

What can we learn from this story?

• Always listen to your instincts, especially if you're a mother. They say mothers have a unique intuition, and Marlene should've acted on her feelings sooner.
• Not everyone has good intentions, so watch out for the red flags. Although Georgia acted like a good person who wanted her son back, she still showed several red flags that they failed to see earlier.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a firefighter who adopted a boy, and it ended up saving his marriage.

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.