Rich Man Kicks Poor Little Girl Out of His Mansion until He Recognizes the Photo in Her Hand — Story of the Day

A rich man runs off a young girl who comes knocking on his door and sees a photo she holds in her hands -- a photo that threatens to expose his secret past.

It was yet another perfect Sunday for Clive Wallace, but it was all about to fall apart. The first sign that all was not as it should be was when his doorbell rang and no one hurried to answer it.

The doorbell rang yet again and Clive yelled for the housekeeper: "Francisca! Please get that!" Then he remembered that Francisca was on holiday so he walked to the door grumbling and jerked it open.

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There was a girl standing there, holding a photo in her hands, and she smiled shyly and said, "Dad?"

Clive gasped and stared at the girl. "Wha-what?" he asked dazedly. "What did you call me?"

"Dad?" the girl asked again uncertainly. "It's me, Rachel..."

Clive started to close the door. "I don't know WHO you are girl, but you'd better go before I call the police."

"Look!" the girl cried, and pushed the photo at him, but Clive refused to look and slammed the door in her face. A few seconds later, the photo fluttered through the mail slot in the front door and landed at Clive's feet.

He bent to pick it up and was going to crumple it in his fist when he was caught by the eyes of the woman standing beside a younger version of himself in the photo.

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The snap showed a man and woman in their late teens and they glowed with happiness. The woman had daisies in her hair, and they stood in front of a dilapidated country chapel.

They were holding a hand-printed placard that proclaimed: 'Just Married!'. Clive was swept away by memories, memories he didn't want. The past was dead and buried. Nothing could be allowed to spoil his wonderful life. Nothing.

While Clive stared at the photo that threatened to shake up his ideal existence, Rachel was stumbling down the wide driveway leading up to the stately mansion.

Rachel sat by the curb and let sobs shake her fragile shoulders. She'd set her heart on finding her father and had imagined him opening his arms to her, welcoming her into his life.

That didn't happen, and now Rachel could only blame herself for her childish fantasy. But the truth was, of course, that at 17, Rachel was still very much a child no matter how grown up she imagined herself to be.

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Over the last three years, Rachel had to grow up fast once her mother had been diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor. She had taken care of her mother over the last few months of her life, and been stunned by her final revelation.

"Your father..." her mother had whispered and held out the photo. "Your father lives in Memphis... Go to him Rachel, tell him I sent you...He's a good man, I loved him so much..."

That had been her last conversation with her mother. Shortly after that, her mother had sunk into a coma, never to awaken again. Rachel had done what her mom had asked, and it had all gone wrong.

She was wiping the tears from her face when a kind voice asked, "Hey, are you OK?" She looked up and saw a girl of about eleven and a boy of about nine looking concerned.

Rachel nodded and the girl handed her a hanky to clean her face. "I'm OK," Rachel said. "Just a little sad. I'll be OK."

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The girl sat down next to Rachel and smiled shyly. "I'm Emma," she said. "And this is my kid brother Ryan. What's your name?"

Rachel smiled. "I'm Rachel. So what are you guys doing?" As it turned out, Emma and Ryan were on their way down the block to buy ice cream and they invited Rachel along.

It had been a long time since Rachel had felt so relaxed and happy, despite her disappointment. The three chatted and played for a while, then Rachel offered to walk the two kids home.

As they walked down the block she asked, "Which one's your house?"

"That one," Ryan said, and he pointed at her father's house. "We live there with our mom and dad."

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At that moment, a car drove up and a tall, elegant woman, who was clearly pregnant, walked up.

Ryan and Emma ran to the woman and embraced her. Emma said, "Mom, this is our friend Rachel, she walked us home so we'd be safe."

"That's very kind, Rachel," said the children's mom. "I'm Davina Wallace, and you're always welcome here." That was when Clive opened the door and saw his wife and children talking to Rachel.

"What are you still doing here?" he screamed. "Get away from my family!"

Davina, Emma, and Ryan looked shocked, but Rachel burst into tears, turned her back, and ran from the hate blazing in his eyes.

She walked into a cafe and sat down. She asked for tea to calm herself down. As she was sipping her tea, she became aware of two men speaking in low voices at a table behind her.

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"...the safe is full of money, man! Wallace is loaded!" said one of the men.

"He'll never open it...You're dreaming...." said the other in a scornful voice.

"He will if I hold a gun to the head of one of his precious kiddies," replied the first man.

Rachel froze. These two men were talking about breaking into her father's house, and threatening the two children she now knew were her brother and sister! She couldn't let that happen.

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That evening, when the two criminals broke into the Wallace home, they were welcomed by the police who immediately arrested them. Clive said to the Inspector, "I'm very impressed! You probably saved my family's life!"

"No," the inspector said. "This young lady was the hero. She tipped us when she overheard the men planning to rob you at a cafe."

Then he turned to Davina and explained, "Before I met you, I was married to Rachel's mother but we were very young, and when she fell pregnant...I'm not proud to say I ran away.

"Davina, I wasn't ready to be Rachel's dad then, but I am now. Emma, Ryan, this is your big sister, Rachel!"

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To Rachel's surprise, Davina, Emma, and Ryan were suddenly there, hugging her too. "Dad!" Rachel whispered and smiled. She wasn't alone anymore, she had a family!

What can we learn from this story?

• You can't run away from your responsibilities. They always boomerang back at you. Clive walked out on Rachel's mom before she was born, but he ended up having to accept his responsibility.
• Good deeds always bring a reward. Rachel saved her dad and his family even though he'd been unkind, and ended up being accepted by him, his wife, and her siblings.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a young boy who nurses his ailing grandmother, and when she passes away, she leaves him a portrait of America's first president, George Washington.

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