‘He’s My New Son!’ Woman Returns Home from Son’s Funeral Holding Little Boy in Her Arms – Story of the Day

Lucas is unsettled when his wife is late from her son's funeral. She finally arrives home with a little boy cradled in her arms and claims he is her 'son.' When Lucas is unable to get his wife to see reason, he takes drastic measures to help her.

Lucas was restless. He peered through the French window for the umpteenth time in the last hour, but Natalia was not home yet.

Lucas pulled out his phone to call her, but he didn't want to disturb her if she was still at the cemetery. Lucas regretted not going with Natalia to her son's funeral. 20-year-old Kevin had hated him, so he refrained from attending the funeral out of respect for his deceased stepson.

Around fifteen minutes later, Natalia's car pulled into the driveway. Lucas rushed to meet her, only to freeze when she got out of the car with a toddler cradled in her arms.

"He's my new son! Kevin has come back to me!" Natalia smiled as she lifted the toddler's hand and made him wave at Lucas. "Kevvy, say hi to Uncle Lucas!"

Lucas started feeling uneasy. "Natalia, whose child is this?"

"He's my son, Kevvy! Shame on you for not recognizing your stepson, Lucas. Look, he has the same eyes...the same nose...and a dimple in the same spot."

A cold, tingling feeling ran down Lucas's spine. Natalia was behaving strangely, and it was frightening him.

"Nat, I know it's hard...after losing your son, okay? But that's not Kevin. Kevin's gone...he died in a car crash."

Natalia frowned as she gave Lucas a bemused smile. "That's not funny. Open your eyes! Kevvy is right here...with us!"

"Baby Kevvy, let's go inside. I'll make your favorite chicken nuggets and mac and cheese...then we'll watch cartoons together."

Lucas watched in disbelief as Natalia entered their house with the toddler. Something was wrong with Natalia. He was also worried for the child...and his real parents.

Natalia doted over little 'Kevvy' during dinner while Lucas watched. It was like being in a real-life horror movie.

"Nat, the boy is crying. Maybe you should take him back to where you found him."

"Stop it, Lucas," Natalia snapped. "Stop scaring my son. It's not funny. Now go...fetch me the teething drops."

"There aren't any teething drops, Natalia," Lucas rose from his chair.

"This is not a joke. This boy is NOT Kevin. He's someone else's child. We have to take him back to his real mom...I'm sure his parents would be going crazy worrying about their lost child."

"I know you hated Kevin when we got married...you're sick. Just stop this nonsense, or I'm leaving you," Natalia stared fiercely at Lucas before storming to the bedroom with the little boy.

Lucas was haunted. He knew Natalia needed psychiatric help but couldn't bear the thought of sending her to a mental hospital. But it was certainly where she'd end up if he didn't figure this out.

Lucas went upstairs and apologized to Natalia. He offered to take care of little Kevvy for the rest of the evening so she could sleep early.

Natalia agreed, and when she left the room, Lucas checked the child's clothes for a name or something to identify him, but in vain.

Early the following morning, Lucas woke up to loud knocks on the front door and was startled when he saw two police officers standing on the front porch.

"Good morning, sir. I'm Officer Jones...and I need to speak to your wife. Could you please call her?" one of the officers said.

"My wife?" Luca's heart raced. "She...she's not home now, Officer. Is there something I can do to help you?"

"A two-year-old boy went missing during his grandmother's funeral at the Oakwood Cemetery yesterday. We suspect he was abducted," Officer Jones replied.

"The boy's cousin reported seeing a dark-haired woman carrying the child somewhere...Are you sure your wife isn't home right now?"

"She went to the store, Officer," Lucas lied, trying to block the officer's view of his house's interiors. Natalia was out back with Kevvy…and they would be in huge trouble if she showed up now.

"Heard she was attending a funeral at the same cemetery when the boy went missing," Officer Jones added. "We're enquiring everybody who was present there at the time. We really need to speak to your wife."

"Sure, Officer. I'll tell her once she gets home."

"Ask her to give me a call. Thanks."

Lucas slammed the door shut, and his heart started to pound. Things were spiraling out of control faster than he'd thought.

The previous night, he searched online and discovered that Natalia suffered from a rare form of grief-induced psychosis. And now that he knew where the boy came from, Lucas pulled out his phone, made a call, and rushed upstairs to pack.

Just as Lucas carried the last suitcase to the front door, Natalia emerged from the backyard with the little boy, clinging to a fluffy orange teddy bear in his arms.

Kevvy was terrified, and Lucas's heart ached to see the boy so stressed. But all he could do now was hope his plan worked.

"Oh, there you are, Kevvy!" Lucas said with a big, fake smile. "I'm sure you'll love the surprise holiday I've planned for all of us."

"What surprise holiday?" Natalia frowned.

"We're going to spend the weekend at this beautiful cabin outside the city...where we could spend a great time together as a family. What do you think?"

Natalia smiled and nodded. Lucas carried their suitcases to their car and set off for the cabin he'd rented.

When they reached, Natalia sat Kevvy on the sofa to watch cartoons while she helped Lucas unpack. But even the funny cartoon dog on the TV couldn't cheer the boy up.

"Someone's got a bad case of the grumps!" Natalia tickled Kevvy's toes. "Guess what? I will take you to the lake...to cheer you up."

The boy started screaming when Natalia lifted him into her arms and walked outside.

Although Lucas knew Natalia would never harm the child, she wasn't in her right mind. So he decided to return the boy to his parents.

Lucas then cooked lunch and spiked Natalia's hotdog ketchup with crushed sleeping pills. "Please forgive me, love. I have to do this," he whispered.

"Lunch is ready!" he called out to Natalia, standing on the rocky shoreline.

She walked back to the cabin, and Lucas watched as Natalia ate every bite of her hotdog. Moments later, she slumped over against the armrest as Lucas slid a cushion under her head.

"It's time to go back to your real mama," Lucas said as he gently lifted the boy.

"We interrupt our scheduled TV programming for an urgent announcement," a broadcast on TV stopped Lucas. A young couple standing outside a mansion with a reporter appeared on the screen.

"Mama!" the little boy pointed to the screen.

"We just want our son back safe and sound," the woman on the TV said. "We're offering a $100,000 reward to whoever finds and returns Brody to us."

A photo of little Brody appeared on the screen, along with a phone number. Lucas quickly saved the number on his phone.

"Hundred thousand dollars!" he exclaimed, looking down at the boy. "Your parents must be rich to hand out so much money."

Lucas had initially planned to take the kid to the cemetery and call the cops with an anonymous tip about his whereabouts. But now, seeing the lump sum reward changed everything.

Lucas carried the boy back to the sofa. He drove to the nearest gas station and purchased a prepaid SIM card. He then called the number he'd seen on TV.

"Your son is with me," Lucas told the woman. "Leave the $100,000 reward in a big bag under the bench by the duck pond in Oak Street Park on Monday at 10 a.m. I'll return your son to you safely."

"I'll give you whatever you ask. Please, I want my son back," the woman cried.

That Monday, Lucas rented a bicycle and a delivery guy uniform before heading to the park. He watched Kevvy's real mom put a full backpack under the bench and walk away.

Lucas pulled up his cycling mask, covering the lower half of his face, and cycled toward the bench. Adrenaline rushed through him at the sight of all the money inside the backpack. He quickly stuffed the backpack into the delivery bag and sped away.

While doing so, Lucas noticed several people watching him closely. His heart started pounding, thinking they were cops. So he picked up the pace.

Sirens blared in the distance as Lucas realized it was time to put the second part of his plan into motion.

A man on a bicycle wearing a uniform similar to the one Lucas was wearing cycled towards him. Lucas sped past him. And soon, he ran into another delivery guy, and another...and another.

A wicked grin lit up Lucas as he heard people shouting in confusion behind him. His special request with his delivery was that each of the 25 burgers be delivered individually.

Now, the park was full of delivery guys on bicycles who looked similar to him. It was the perfect smokescreen.

Lucas slipped out of the park and approached his car, parked two blocks away. He changed into his regular clothes and excitedly drove back to the cabin with the money. Moreover, it was time to send Kevvy to his real parents.

Lucas pulled over outside the cabin, and just as he got out of his car, he heard a rustle in the bushes. He thought it was maybe a deer or a raccoon.

Suddenly, a man emerged from the thickets, pointing a gun at him.

"FBI! Get down on your knees and put your hands in the air," the man shouted. "You're under arrest for kidnapping."

Before Lucas could fathom what was happening, another agent handcuffed him.

"Where's the boy?"

"He's in the cabin...please don't hurt my wife," Lucas pleaded. "...she is ill...she doesn't understand what's going on."

But the agent had already rushed up to the cabin. Lucas watched in horror as Natalia burst out of the front door with the boy in her arms and bolted into the woods.

"Stop!" the agent yelled at her. But Natalia didn't stop.

"Please...don't hurt her. She thinks he's her son...." Lucas cried as the other officer frogmarched him to the car and drove away to the station.

Several hours later, Lucas was escorted to the interrogation room. He was desperate for the news of Natalia, but the officers refused to tell him anything until he answered their questions. So he confessed everything.

"Please...my wife wasn't in her right mind. Her son died...she was heartbroken. And she honestly believed that little kid was her son...that he'd returned to her."

The officer nodded coldly. "She'll be sent to a psychiatric facility for further evaluation...after she comes out of her coma."

"Coma?" Lucas was shocked.

"Your wife was injured in the woods while trying to escape with the boy...she fell through a poorly maintained bridge and was swept away with the river."

"She fought hard to keep the boy's head above the water...and readily handed him over to the agent attempting a rescue," the officer added.

"But she was swept away in the current...she sustained some heavy bruises...broke her arm...and almost drowned."

Lucas sighed heavily, and one vital question remained unanswered. "How did you find me, Officer?" he looked up at the officer.

"The delivery guy trick was certainly clever. And all we needed was a GPS tracker hidden in the bag with the ransom money to find you," the officer explained.

Lucas was ashamed as he stared at the handcuffs around his wrists. If only he'd followed his instincts and returned the little boy to his parents when he had intended to.

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