Man Who Tends to Lonely Aunt Learns Her $1.3M Home Goes to Strange Postwoman — Story of the Day

A man is surprised that his lonely aunt, whom he has been caring for for years, is leaving her $1.3 million home to a strange postwoman – but the older lady dismisses it as nonsense, and he discovers she's entangled in a legal mess.

Clayton, 43, was a good man. He was a loving father, a devoted husband, and a caring nephew. So much so that, despite having three children and the fourth on the way, as well as a slew of other responsibilities, he was a devoted caregiver to his aunt, Macey.

The now older woman had raised Clayton since he was a little boy of ten. Unfortunately, his parents died in a car accident, and none of his relatives stepped up to care for him. Macey's heart went out to the boy, and she practically sacrificed his life for him.

Back then, Macey was young and pretty and had dozens of men willing to date her. But none of them wanted a woman with a kid, so Macey decided she didn't want them in her life.

Macey remained a single mother to her nephew, who appreciated her sacrifices and loved her very much. Then life happened, and she grew old, feeble, and needy of love and attention…

It was a bright Sunday morning. Clayton parked the car in Macey's driveway, and his three little boys ran to her front door.

"Gran Macey! We're home!" they cried in unison, and minutes later, the old woman was showering her little grandkids with hugs and kisses on her front porch.

"The pie is ready in the kitchen, and we can order pizza regardless of what Daddy says, OK?" she said to the boys, who hugged and kissed her. "We love you, Gran!" they exclaimed as they disappeared inside.

Weekend visits to Macey's house had become a ritual for Clayton and his family. Because his wife was pregnant, she couldn't visit her as frequently, but Clayton never missed a weekend, and neither did his boys.

"How are you, aunt Macey?" he asked as he wrapped a warm hug around her. "You allowed them to order pizza, didn't you?"

She smiled and held him for a while. "I'm wonderful, my boy," she said. "How is Amelia doing? I baked some biscuits for her pregnancy cravings. And mind you, they're not just any biscuits! They're straight out of my grandmother's recipe books! Some special things they are!"

"You didn't need to trouble yourself, Macey," Clayton said. "The doctor said—"

Blaming someone for your misfortune only makes you more miserable.

"I've got all my life to rest, OK? Oh, I hope we have a girl this time! Someone as lovely as your wife!"

That's who Macey was -- a sweet, loving woman who cared about everyone in the world except herself. She had low blood pressure, and the doctors advised her to rest, but Macey listened to her heart, not the doctors.

That weekend, Clayton and his boys had a feast of pizza and her apple pie, and Macey asked them to visit again soon. She asked Clayton to bring over Amelia, too, as she had a surprise for his birthday!

Since Clayton was a little boy, Macey did something special for him on his birthdays. This year, she intended to make his birthday the most memorable and decided to give him the letters his late mother used to write her about each of his little steps.

Clayton's mother had wanted him to have a brother or a sister, but before that, God took away his parents. So some of the letters Clayton's mother had written to Macey were sad, very sad, and she didn't want him to read them.

So a few days before his birthday, she climbed the attic ladders, spent a couple of hours sorting the happy letters, and cried as she read them. Once she had what she needed, she began climbing down the stairs, but sadly, she rushed and missed a step and landed on her back.

"Oh dear!" she cried. "Oh, it hurts!"

Thankfully, her phone was in her cardigan pocket, so she called the paramedics, who took her to the hospital. Unfortunately, Macey broke her hip, became bedridden, and couldn't move around without a wheelchair.

When Clayton learned about Macey's condition, he dashed to the hospital and gently scolded her for her actions.

"Macey!" he cried. "Really? Who in the world told you to climb those stairs?"

"My love made me do it!" she boasted. "And you know what, I have the surprise ready! And I won't tell you what it is, no matter how much you nag me!" she laughed.

"Jesus! How can you still smile and laugh?" Clayton sighed. "What if the injury was more serious?"

"Oh boy, don't you see how fit I am?" she smiled. "I'll tell you what, Clayton. These doctors... They're all part of a scheme to steal people's hard-earned money! Take a look at me! I'm fine, but they won't let me go until tomorrow!" And then she moved her casted leg resting on pillows and cried in pain.

"Macey!" Clayton cried. "You're really impossible!"

The next day, Macey was discharged and returned home. Clayton and Amelia said they were moving in with her for a few days to care for her, but Macey said she was OK with a nurse.

"You're too innocent for this world!" Clayton argued. "You're already injured, and I don't want you to get robbed now! That's the last thing I'd want! I'm not trusting you with a stranger."

Macey smiled because she knew behind her nephew's argument was his love and care for her. She agreed to let them move in, and Clayton really went out of his way to look after her.

He'd take meals to her bed, push her wheelchair around the house, and work from home, so he could be near her. On Macey's one call for help, Clayton rushed to her aid! That's how much he cared for her, and Macey was grateful to have such a wonderful and loving nephew.

One morning, when Amelia was helping Macey take a bath, Macey's phone rang. Clayton attended the call, and the man on the other end of the line introduced himself as Mr. Pittman, Macey's lawyer.

He said he wanted to talk to Macey about her property matters, and Clayton said he'd relay the message to her as he was her nephew.

"I'd prefer to talk to Ms. Farrow since it's a private matter involving her house transfer," he said. "I'm sorry I can't reveal any other details since it's confidential. I received the documents this morning, and I'd like to have a talk with her as soon as possible. Thank you."

Mr. Pittman hung up the phone, and Clayton was surprised Macey was planning on transferring her $1.3 million house to someone. So when Macey asked who had called, he told her what the lawyer had said.

"You're really thinking about it? I thought you loved your house," Clayton said casually.

"Oh, dear! You think I'd fall for your pranks, Clayton?" Macey laughed. "I'm not transferring my house to anyone. Why would I?"

"What?" asked Clayton. "But the lawyer said that! He said he needs to talk to you!"

"Oh, it better not be a prank," Macey said, dialing the lawyer. "Yes, Mr. Pittman. I'm sorry, my nephew must have answered. Yes, yes, oh no! No, I don't… who sent the documents?"

"There was no address on the envelope, Ms. Farrow, which I thought was odd, so I decided to call you. As you know, you were discussing making a will and talking about the property transfer and everything."

"That's… I'm not sure! I have no idea who Ms. McClaire is! Could you please send me the documents? Until then, don't proceed with anything—"

"I'm afraid, Ms. Farrow, I have your signatures on the paper," Mr. Pittman said. "And it confirms that you have transferred your house to Ms. McClaire, making her the legal owner."

Macey's heart sank as she hung up the phone. "I don't know what he's talking about!" she cried. "I had called him home some time ago, and…" Macey tried to recall the events of the previous weeks, and it suddenly dawned on her that she didn't know any Ms. McClaire. But she had been exceptionally kind to a stranger recently... the postwoman who delivered her mail!

The young woman was sweet and kind, and she had helped Macey carry her parcels inside. Macey often saw her in the neighborhood, and the young woman had grown close to her. One day, she helped Macey carry groceries from her car to her house.

The postwoman was present on the day Mr. Pittman visited Macey! She had asked for some water, and Macey had caught her rummaging through the documents on the front table when she returned from the kitchen.

"Oh, I accidentally kicked them off the table and was just arranging them!" she had said. Macey had seen something in her eyes that day, something that said she was lying. But she hadn't given it much thought.

Then she appeared on her doorstep one day and asked her to sign a document, as she did every time she delivered something to her, and Macey signed it. Had she fallen into a trap by trusting her?

"Oh, that's all I know! I never let strangers in, but she was kind and helpful. I remember she had introduced herself as Patty!" Macey cried. "And it's only now that I realize I haven't seen her in weeks!"

"Well, if she's a postwoman, we can track her down! We need to inform the cops as soon as we can," Clayton said.

He sought assistance from the cops, and they searched the town's post office for a certain Patty and also a Ms. McClaire. But it turned out that no postwoman with those names existed!

"You've probably fallen prey to scammers, and they must be rejoicing," the cop told Clayton. "We'll see what we can do, Mr. Farrow. You should head home."

Clayton felt awful for Macey. The first thing he did was install cameras all around her house, and he told her to be careful. "I have to return to the office next week, and this should help if she comes here again! Since the kids, Amelia, and I won't be there, we need this, OK? Report her to the cops if she shows up again!" he told Macey.

But a month passed, and there were no leads from the police or the camera footage. Patty never showed up on Macey's doorstep again.

Clayton had given up hope that he could save her innocent aunt from the scammer until he left his office early one evening. Right outside the conference room, he overheard a janitor talking on her phone.

"The rich will never understand what it's like to work hard to pay your bills! All they do is direct their subordinates! Those idiots! They deserve to rot in hell!"

Clayton would have ignored her words, and he would have also ignored her terrible attitude if he hadn't noticed what was peeking out from her bag, which was lying on the floor.

As she left to keep the bucket and mop back in place, Clayton pulled the little piece of cloth from her bag and found a postwoman's uniform! Aside from that, there were bundles of legal papers, including Macey's house papers, inside her bag. Now that was something a janitor shouldn't have!

Clayton placed everything back, but he alerted the cops and decided to follow her that evening. He saw her change into a deliverywoman's uniform in the parking lot and knew the mystery of Ms. McClaire was solved.

When she stopped by an elderly couple's house disguised as a deliverywoman that evening, Clayton was there with the cops, and she was arrested. She had tried to escape, but sadly, Ms. McClaire wasn't a good runner.

"You're being held for deceiving Mr. Farrow's aunt," the cop said as he cuffed her. "Remember that you have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. Anything that—"

"You're all crap! This whole system is crap!" she hissed. "What are you going to get after arresting a blue-collar worker? We're forced to live in poverty because of rich sickos like his aunt!"

"That old lady has crazy money while the poor are dying because they can't afford to pay their bills! How nicely she talked to me! Does she think she was doing me a favor by being kind? It's easier to be kind when you are rich!"

"No!" said Clayton. "You can't blame someone for your misfortune! My aunt and the elderly people you prey on have nothing to do with someone's poverty."

"I know, Ms. McClaire, that the world isn't fair and ideal, but the day you start working honestly, you'll realize how wrong you are even to have such thoughts! Only the weak can deceive the innocent and revel in that sort of victory."

What can we learn from this story?

• Blaming someone for your misfortune only makes you more miserable. Ms. McClaire blamed wealthy people for the poor's misfortune, which made her so miserable that she resorted to theft and scamming to exact her vengeance.
• In life, truth and honesty always have the upper hand. In the end, Macey was able to reclaim her home, and the culprit was arrested for her actions. After all, the truth triumphed.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a lonely older woman who doesn't receive any visitors at her nursing home until her relatives learn about her $2.3 million fortune.

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