‘Dad?!’ Man Almost Faints after Recognizing Scar on Beggar’s Head – Story of the Day

A business trip turns Henry's life upside down when he runs into a beggar shining shoes for a living. He spots a scar on the beggar's head and almost faints upon realizing the man looks exactly like his father, who had disappeared 20 years ago under mysterious circumstances.

"Hey, Mom. Hi," Henry said disappointedly as he left the business center building. "They aren't very keen on signing the contract. They think our competitors are offering them more favorable terms."

"What?" Victoria gasped. "You did not drive those 200 miles for nothing, Henry! How can they just—We need this contract. We can't lose them. Give me 20 minutes, and I'll get back to you."

"Sure, Mom," Henry said.

"And yes," Victoria added. "Don't worry. I'm going to sort this out. Did you have lunch? I'm guessing not. So go have your lunch. And be ready to go back in and bag that contract," she replied and hung up...

Henry sighed and walked to the cafe across the street. He got a regular latte and was heading back to the building when a boy on roller skates bumped into him, spilling the coffee on his shoes. "What the sh—"

"Whoops, sorry!" The boy said and hurried away to escape Henry's wrath.

"Little piece of crap!" Henry muttered angrily as he kneeled to clean his shoes. But the stain wouldn't come off. "Really? Does every single thing has to go wrong today?" he grumbled.

Suddenly, Henry's gaze was drawn to a man on the pavement across the street. "Working for food. Get your shoes shined for $1," read the placard beside him.

Henry walked up to the beggar and dropped $1 in the box next to him, then placed his right shoe on the cleaning stand.

"May God bless you, sir," the beggar smiled as he looked up at Henry, then he got to his work.

Henry's face turned pale as he glimpsed at the man's face. He quickly pulled out his phone and looked at the wallpaper. It was an old picture of his father.

"No way…" he whispered as he looked from his phone to the man.

"What…what's your name?" he asked the beggar, almost taken aback.

"My buddies call me Scar," the man replied, polishing Henry's shoes. "Why would you ask that, sir?"

"Scar?" Henry asked. "Why—why that name?"

The man laughed. "Could I have been young when I got that scar?" he replied, taking out more polish from his box. "I don't quite remember, but I have a scar, sir, and so, my buddies like to call me Scar."

Henry removed his shoe from the stand, then gently took off the man's cap. "What are you doing, sir?" the man hastily asked, and Henry stepped back.

"This…this can't be! Oh my god! Dad?!" he asked and almost fainted, looking at the beggar. The man was a vivid image of Henry's father, David, and he bore the same scar at the same place on his head as David.

"Sir, sir? What is happening? Oh, someone call the ambulance, please!" Scar panicked and cried to the passers-by for help as he saw Henry's pale face. But nobody listened to his cries. Henry finally asked Scar to call 911 from his phone and passed out.

When Henry opened his eyes, he realized he was in a hospital and noticed Scar on the stool beside him. "Sir, are you alright?" he asked worriedly. "The doctors wouldn't allow me, but I wanted to see you."

"Scar…do you not remember who you are?" Henry asked, trying to sit up in bed.

"I am…" he paused. "Sorry, sir, but I don't remember much about my life. I live on the streets and polish shoes. That's all I know. I have no memories of my childhood."

"And your relatives? You don't have any?" asked Henry.

"None that I remember," Scar said sadly, shaking his head. "As far as my memory goes, I've been like this for almost 19 years. No relatives. No home. Nowhere to go."

Henry noticed Scar's disheveled state and how strangely he behaved and sometimes mumbled things to himself as if he was suffering from mental disorders and memory loss.

"I'm afraid the visitation time is up," a doctor entered Henry's ward and looked at Scar. "You need to leave."

"Oh, yes, yes. Please take care, sir. I have to go," Scar said to Henry, but Henry stopped him.

"Doctor, can you please conduct a thorough checkup for Scar? He helped me a lot when I fainted, and I just want to make sure he's alright. Don't worry, Scar. I'll take care of your bills."

"But sir," Scar's eyes welled up in gratitude. "You don't need to do this. Please, this would be too much for me, and I would not be able to return your favor."

"You don't need to," Henry said with a smile. "Please wait for us outside. And yes, please call me Henry."

As Scar left, Henry briefed the doctor about everything. "He is someone close to me, doctor," Henry said. "I want to know what's wrong with him. And don't worry about the money. I just want him to be fine."

"I'll take care of it, sir," the doctor said, leaving the room. An hour later, Henry was going through Scar's reports when he realized the man had amnesia, which was why he didn't remember the earlier parts of his life.

As per the reports, he had suffered a traumatic brain injury years ago, which also caused his behavioral changes.

Henry closed the report file and dialed Victoria. He had to tell her the truth.

"Hey, Mom," he said as she answered.

"Where the hell have you been, Henry? Why have you been ignoring my calls and voicemails?" Victoria exploded.

"Mom, I have to tell you something," Henry said, taking a deep breath. "I'm at the hospital, and I think I found Dad."

"What?" she cried. "You, what? What are you doing at the hospital, Henry? And your dad…Listen, Henry, we've talked about this time and again since his disappearance, and you need to stop looking for him. He is not coming back, son."

"Look, Mom, I know it might sound crazy, but I'm really sure this time. Can you just come here, please?" he said. "I…I don't feel great, Mom."

"Alright, I'm coming," she said, and Henry could hear her sigh on the other end of the line. "But you're staying away from that man until I get there. Got it?"

"Yes, Mom," Henry said and hung up.

A few hours later, Victoria arrived at the hospital and stormed into her son's ward.

"What's the matter, Henry?" she asked, taking a seat beside him. "Tell me."

Henry sighed and told her everything that had happened, including how he fainted and was rushed to the hospital. "I can take you to his room, Mom. He looks exactly like Dad. And he's got the same scar. I remember seeing it on Dad's head as a kid. Come with me, Mom, and you'll know."

Henry took Victoria to Scar's room. He asked her to come inside with him, but she refused. "I can see him quite fine from here," she said as she peered at Scar from the room's round glass window. A nurse was talking to Scar while she collected his blood for some tests.

"So…what do you think? He looks like Dad, doesn't he?" Henry asked.

"I don't know," Victoria said, turning away from the door. "You can take a DNA test if you want, Henry. That's all I can suggest at this point."

Henry decided it was the best option. He underwent the DNA test and paid for the option of express results. After he and Victoria left the laboratory, they were sitting in the hall, talking about what was going on, about the scar, and Henry couldn't help but recall the moments he spent with his dad.

"I'll be right back, Mom. Need to use the restroom," Henry said at one point. He left Victoria waiting in the hallway and realized he had reached the wrong part of the corridor when he found himself in front of the women's loo.

When he was heading back, he stopped abruptly after hearing Victoria arguing with someone on the phone. Henry had never seen her so furious, and he sensed something was off. So he hid behind a wall, eavesdropping on her conversation.

"How the hell is he still alive?!" she fumed. "You had told me he definitely didn't survive! Do I need to remind you at whose expense you're living that God-like life?"

"Who was she even talking to?" Henry thought as he watched her end the call. He left for the washroom, and when he got back, he was about to ask her about the call when a nurse interrupted them.

"Mr. Gibbins?" she asked Henry. "Your test results are here."

As Henry received the results, he opened it in haste, his heart throbbing in his chest. But when he read the report, he couldn't believe it. The words "0% match" in the report stared back at him. He even forgot what he had heard only a minute before.

"How is this even possible?" he gasped. "How can—I really thought he was Dad. Mom, you saw him. How can this…something is wrong, Mom."

"I know it's hard for you to accept this after you've been so hopeful of David's return all this while, Henry," Victoria said, holding his hands. "It's hard for any child to accept that their father is not coming back for them. But honey, we all miss him. I miss him every single day. The truth, though, is he might be dead for all we know. You know, it was not easy for me to take over his company and build this life for us.

"But you were so little back then, Henry. I had to put my grief aside for your sake. So please, let's leave for the meeting now. I told them we'd be about 30 minutes late because of an emergency. We'll quickly grab something to eat as you haven't had your lunch yet. And I thought about the deal. I know exactly how to win our clients over, honey."

Henry's heart dropped. "Alright," he sighed, closing the report. "I'll just meet Scar and be back in a minute."

Henry visited Scar's ward and told the nurse to take good care of him. "The doctor says they are going to treat you, Scar, so don't worry if you have to stay here for a while. Take care, and I'll visit you soon. Please look after him, nurse," Henry said and left.

After having lunch at a cafe, Henry left for the business center, and Victoria returned home. He finally bagged the deal and immediately called and told Victoria about it. She was over the moon because the deal was very crucial for their company, and Henry thanked her for helping him out, but he never mentioned what he had heard at the hospital. Instead, he visited her house the next day while she was at work to investigate.

Henry had the spare key, so he unlocked her door. As he marched inside, he noticed everything was spick and span, which was very much how Victoria would maintain everything. She freaked out when she saw a mess, so she liked to keep her space clean.

Henry entered her bedroom and began searching the safe in her closet for his father's death certificate. Though Victoria was a great businesswoman who made brilliant decisions, she wasn't really excellent at deciding passwords. So it took Henry almost a few seconds to guess the password and open the safe.

As he poured over the documents, he realized they were mostly company papers and some documents related to real estate. His father's death certificate was not there. So Henry rummaged through almost every drawer in her room, but it was all in vain.

Henry closed the closet door and sighed. "If Mom's room doesn't have Dad's death certificate, where is it?" he wondered, looking around. It was then Henry noticed something strange.

He knelt near the closet's bottom and noticed the lamination under its legs had come off. Then he saw the scratch marks on the floor, and it seemed like someone had repeatedly pushed the closet as if trying to change its location.

Henry pushed the cupboard aside with all his might and stood back in shock when he found a hidden safe behind it. The mini safe was built into the wall and had a password-protected lock.

Henry typed in the usual passwords that Victoria would use, but the lock didn't budge.

"What else can she keep for the password?" he wondered, looking around, trying to find any clue. At that moment, his gaze stopped on his father's photo frame, which was kept on the bedside table.

Henry tried the date on which his father had gone missing. To his surprise, the safe clicked open. But all he found inside was a brown folder. He was about to check it when his phone rang. It was Victoria.

"Oh no, did she find out I'm here?" Henry panicked and raced to her bedroom window to check if she was home, but thankfully, she wasn't.

"Thank God!" he sighed with relief.

"Hey, Mom, what's up?" he asked, answering her call.

"Hello, son. I just got off work, and I was wondering if we could get together for a little dinner to celebrate the deal's success. You do know my favorite restaurant, don't you? I hope you have the time," Victoria said cheerfully.

"Uh, Mom. Well, I'd love to, but these few days have been hard. Can we please do dinner some other day?" he asked.

"Oh," Victoria was disappointed, but she said it was fine and hung up.

Henry took the brown folder, organized Victoria's room, and left her house. When he arrived home, he decided to investigate what was inside. He opened the folder and found an envelope inside containing an old disk, a couple of documents, and some photographs.

When Henry looked at the photos, he realized they were of his dad's. But his father wasn't alone in those pictures. David was pictured with a woman at different places—in a car, at a restaurant, and even entering a hotel. It looked like someone was stalking them when the photos were taken. Then he found a picture of his dad kissing the woman, and Henry realized the woman was his father's mistress.

"Dad was…cheating on Mom? Jesus," he thought sadly. He moved on to the documents he had found and realized they were share transfers, according to which his mother had transferred a part of the company's shares to David's assistant, Steve.

Steve still worked for Victoria's company and was a member of the board of directors. The only odd thing about the transfer was that it was made soon after David went missing.

"What was going on? Why would Mom have all these things in one place? What does all this mean?" Henry wondered as his gaze was drawn to the old disk. He inserted the disk into his old computer's tray and realized it was an audio recording. His mom's and dad's voices appeared as he clicked the play button. They were talking to each other, but not in a loving manner.

Henry heard Victoria lash out at David. "Just admit that you're cheating on me with that skinny witch! How many nights did you sleep together, huh? You met her on that business trip, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did!" Henry's father shouted. "I did sleep with her behind your back, Victoria. What are you going to do about it? If I want, I can hire the best lawyers and get you kicked out of my life without giving you a dime. And you know what? A pathetic housewife like you won't be able to do anything. And while I do all this, I'll make sure I take Henry away from you forever. If you don't want us to divorce for Henry's sake, then—" And then the audio was abruptly cut.

Henry reinserted the disk and played the recording again, but it was pointless. The disk was pretty old, so the latter half of the recording had worn off.

"So Mom and Dad were going to get a divorce. Darn it!" Henry slammed his fist on the table. He rechecked the folder to see if there was anything else inside and found two envelopes hidden deep inside a flap. Henry couldn't believe his eyes when he read the papers he found inside the first envelope. "What? I…am adopted?"

It was Henry's adoption certificate. He didn't know he was adopted 25 years ago. And since the adoption was closed, there was no information about his biological parents. At that moment, Henry understood the DNA test was pointless. But the worst part was Victoria knew about it all along.

Henry opened the second envelope in haste and found another set of pictures. They showed David and Steve out on a fishing trip. There were photos of them collecting finishing rods near the car and then them getting inside the car together and stopping at a gas station.

"Were Dad and Steve being stalked too?" Henry thought as he looked at the next picture. "OK, that's strange," he thought, his eyes fixed on the image. In the photo, Steve was directly into the camera from a distance as if he knew he was being photographed. Henry guessed something was amiss.

He flipped to the next photo and realized it was taken from a height.

As Henry moved on to the picture after that, he jumped to his feet, and his eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god! Dad!"

In the first picture, a man was lying at the foot of a cliff near a river. And in the next photo, the same man was pictured closely.

The man was none other than his father, lying in a pool of blood. Henry couldn't believe it. All his life, Victoria had told him David was missing.

"Why did she never tell me he was lying in this state near a cliff?" he wondered aloud. "Why was she hiding it all along? What other lies have you told me, Mom?"

The next morning, Henry drove to Victoria's house. "Henry? I didn't expect you to be here in the morning. Is everything OK?" Victoria was surprised when she opened the door.

"Hey, Mom," he said, walking inside. "Yeah, I missed your breakfast. Mind fixing me one? And I thought I could give you a ride to work today," he smiled and shrugged.

"Oh, son, that's very sweet of you. Yes, sure, that would be just brilliant. And you know what? It's your favorite for breakfast today. French toast," Victoria said, disappearing into the kitchen.

As they finished breakfast and Victoria went to her room to get ready, Henry noticed she had left her phone unattended. He quickly opened her call logs and began checking whom she had talked to in the past few days.

Henry saw that during the time they were at the hospital, she had made only one call—to Steve.

Henry realized Steve was the man who had tried to kill David. And he hadn't done it alone. Victoria had been an accomplice to the crime, and she had helped Steve lay out a perfect plan to trap David. And then they lied that he had disappeared.

Henry walked to his car and called the hospital where Scar was admitted. "Hi, yes, please don't let him go anywhere. I'll pick him up in the next few days. Thank you," he told Scar's doctor and hung up.

As Victoria got into the car, Henry grabbed the steering wheel, ready to take her where she belonged. "Henry, where are you going?" she asked, looking out the window at the roads. "The office is in the other direction."

"Relax, Mom. It's a surprise," he said, taking the road toward the police station.

What can we learn from this story?

• Don't let greed and vengeance blind you. Victoria was so obsessed with money and getting revenge on David that she joined forces with Steve and lied to Henry all his life that David was missing. But in the end, the truth came to the surface.
• Lies can't be hidden forever, for they have a way of leaking out. After hearing Victoria's conversation on the phone, Henry decided to investigate if his mother was hiding something from him. And he was right. The hidden safe led him to the truth Victoria had thought would never come out.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a rich man who comes to a restaurant and finds his long-lost brother begging in front of it.

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