by Greed is a powerful motivator. It can cause people to do things they would never consider before like betraying the people they’re supposed to care about the most. While wealth can open many doors, is it worth destroying relationships to get it?
Meet Jerry Druthers
Jerry Druthers always felt like something was missing in his family life. Growing up with his older sister, Clara, and their parents in a wealthy neighborhood in northern Missouri, everything on the surface seemed perfect. But to Jerry, something was always off—and he blamed it on his father, Jack.
Jerry adored his mother, who was everything his father wasn’t—graceful, kind, and full of warmth. In his eyes, his dad could never measure up. It was only out of love for her that Jerry continued visiting his parents after moving out. He couldn’t have known that everything was about to change.
Getting Older
As Jerry settled into his adult life, his visits home became less and less frequent, more out of duty to his mother than any real desire to spend time with his father. But when his mother passed away unexpectedly, every reason he had to visit home died alongside her.
Without her presence, the home felt empty and foreign to him. Jerry all but abandoned his father, no longer feeling the obligation to come and visit a man he barely related to. How was Jerry supposed to know that he would soon regret this decision?
His Own Life
As the years went by, Jerry found himself caught up in his own world, chasing dreams that, if he was honest, might’ve been a little self-indulgent. His father barely crossed his mind—he just assumed the old man would be fine. After all, Jerry had his own problems to figure out.
He was stuck between jobs, unsure of what path would bring him the most fulfillment. There were so many things to consider when trying to create the life he wanted. Then a call came that shocked him back into reality.
New Issues Arise
The last few years had been particularly stressful. Jerry’s spending habits had spiraled out of control, and his investments weren’t looking much better. However, he barely noticed, until he got a call from the bank. His financial advisor began to yell at him—he had overdrawn his card again, and the bank wasn’t too happy with him.
Confused, Jerry checked his account, only to discover that his funds were far lower than he had remembered. Where had all his money gone? How was he going to pay for all of the plans he had come up with for his future? Jerry needed a quick solution—and that’s when it hit him.
The Family Home
As soon as he thought of it, the pieces seemed to come together perfectly—he would sell their family home. His father was getting old anyway and the big house was wasted on him. It wasn’t like his older sister would mind—she had moved to Australia years ago and he’d barely spoken to her since their mother died.
Everything suddenly seemed obvious. He would fix up anything that needed polishing, get some people to spruce up the space, and have it on the market in a few months. It was the perfect plan. Now he just needed to get his father out of there.
A Visit
With a plan perfectly mapped out in Jerry’s mind, he went to visit his father, who opened the door with a look of shock on his face. It had been quite a while since Jerry had come to visit him, and he never showed up unannounced. Jack Druthers welcomed his son in, the look of suspicion on his face obvious to Jerry.
Honestly, his suspicion wasn’t all that misplaced. Jerry was hardly there to reminisce with his father—who, Jerry realized with a pang of guilt, looked older and wrinklier than he remembered. Still, he would never share with his father the true reasoning behind his visit. How long could he keep it a secret?
The Plan
Jerry sat stiffly in the living room, watching as his father shuffled around the kitchen, preparing coffee at a much slower pace than he remembered. The sight of his aging father should’ve made him feel worse, and it did—briefly. But another thought crept in. This could work to his advantage.
Jack was only going to get slower, and weaker, and soon it wouldn’t make sense for him to live alone in such a big house. Jerry couldn’t help the feeling of satisfaction that overcame him. The plan seemed to be falling into place perfectly.
Her Legacy
Finally, his dad sat down with the coffees, handing Jerry one, and his son broke the news to him—he was planning to move his father to a nursing home. Jack went very still, frozen in shock before he seemed to shake out of it. “Now why would you do that?” he asked. Before Jerry could answer, his father started to get angry.
“This house is your mother’s legacy,” he said, his voice shaking. Jerry could no longer feel his mother’s presence in this old house. He couldn’t empathize with his father’s sentimental connection to it. It didn’t matter anyway—the decision had already been made, he told his father, whether he liked it or not. But would he move that easily?
The Move
Jerry came over the next few months to help his father pack up his things and get ready for his move to the nursing home. He tried to ignore the tense silence between them and the exasperated expression his father wore.
It was easier than Jerry expected it to be to pretend his father wasn’t upset and that this was a good decision for everyone involved. After all, he was simply focused on the payout at the end of this whole process. By the end of the month, everything was set for his dad to move in, and Jerry dropped him off, with a promise to come and visit. He couldn’t have known that everything wouldn’t go as planned.
The First Visit
A few weeks after moving his father into the nursing home, Jerry finally visited, but Jack didn’t even glance at him. Every attempt at conversation was met with silence. Just as Jerry was about to leave, Jack finally spoke, his voice low and filled with disappointment.
“I can’t believe you, Jerry. You’ve abandoned me and betrayed your mother. I don’t even recognize you anymore,” he said. He pointed to a portrait of his late wife. “Mark my words—you’ll regret this,” he continued. God, he’s gotten grumpy, Jerry thought to himself. He simply patted his dad’s shoulder and walked out, telling him he’d be back in a week or two. He had bigger things to focus on.
Building it Up
For months, Jerry poured his time and money into fixing up the house for sale. There was a lot more to get done than he expected, and it was taking more of his finances than either he—or his financial advisor—would’ve liked, but he knew the sale would be worth it once it was actually sold.
Jerry had hired contractors, painters, and landscapers, carefully orchestrating every detail to make the house look its best. As it got closer and closer to the final product, Jerry couldn’t be more excited. He couldn’t have prepared himself for how things would actually end.
An Obligation
Throughout these months, Jerry made sure to visit his father now and then, but the visits were more out of obligation than care. He wanted to make sure that it seemed like he was doing this for everyone’s sake. Still, his father refused to engage with him when he came to visit.
But Jerry didn’t mind anymore—in his eyes, their relationship had always been strained. Besides, he was too focused on the house to take anything too seriously or personally. He was there to keep up appearances, regardless of whether his father liked it or not. Little did he know the way he was acting would soon have consequences.
The Outburst
Despite his father’s coldness, Jerry continued to force visits. Though he didn’t have big hopes that their relationship would change, Jerry didn’t really expect it to get worse—but there it was, getting more and more tense.
Then, one afternoon, everything came to a head. During another painfully strained conversation, his father, visibly fed up with Jerry’s self-serving behavior, finally exploded. “You’re only here for the money,” Jack accused, his voice trembling with anger. Jerry scoffed, unable to believe his father would dare suggest something so outrageous.
Doing What’s Best
Jerry, annoyed by his father’s outburst, left in a huff. His father didn’t understand, he told himself. In fact, he was doing what was best for everyone, right? His dad was in a high-end facility with top-notch care, and Jerry was taking on the stress and cost of renovating the house, ensuring it would sell for the best price.
If anything, he was being more generous than necessary. His father should be thanking him. If Jack couldn’t appreciate it now, surely he would when the house was finally sold—or so Jerry thought.
Almost Ready
As the day of the open house approached, Jerry’s confidence grew. He walked through the beautifully clean and staged rooms, a satisfied look on his face as he realized everything had come together just as he envisioned. Finally, his father would realize the service he was doing for their family.
As he walked through, his grin grew as he took in every perfect detail, knowing that the house was ready for the flood of buyers he imagined. Now, all he had to do was wait for the folks to rush in, scrambling over one another to outbid the competition. Jerry could almost taste the success—tomorrow, it would be his, he thought. But life would have other plans.
Phone Call
On the morning of the open house, Jerry put on a nice suit and met the realtor at the house. They walked through, double-checking every detail and making sure everything looked perfect. Finally, they were satisfied and they chatted while they still had a few minutes to spare.
Unexpected News
Jerry could barely get a word out before he heard the cold tone. “Dad’s been awarded an inheritance. You’re cut out,” said the voice on the other end. The words stung like icy daggers, as he recognized the voice—it was his sister, Clara, whom he hadn’t spoken to in years.
“Clara? What are you talking about? How do you even know about this?” Jerry stammered, utterly confused. Her tone was distant, almost cruel, and the news felt like a sucker punch. But just as he tried to get answers, the line went dead. Clara had hung up, leaving him standing there in silence.
Feeling Distraught
Jerry stood frozen, his mind racing. The thought of his father leaving him with nothing had never crossed his mind. How could that even be possible? He was the one putting in all the work, transforming the house, ensuring his dad was taken care of. He was the one still around, not Clara, who had vanished for a decade without a trace.
Shaking off the shock of the phone call, Jerry tried to refocus as the open house kicked off. But just as he steadied himself, another surprise was waiting for him—one that would shake his plans even more.
The Open House
Jerry and the real estate agent sat there for two whole hours as the house remained empty and quiet around them. Not a single person showed up that morning, and Jerry felt himself become more and more embarrassed. He watched the agent check his watch a few times before he was finally ready to call it quits.
Enraged by the entire morning, Jerry huffed out a frustrated breath as he watched the agent drive away. Then, he hopped into his car to go and confront his father. But when he stormed into the nursing home and went to his father’s room, someone was already sitting beside him.
Why Are You Here?
His sister, Clara looked up from her chair next to their father. Jerry stood in the doorway, his mouth open in shock. She hadn’t changed much—except for the sharper lines on her face and streaks of gray in her hair—but it was the smug, knowing smile she wore that made his blood boil. She looked comfortable, like she belonged here, and that only made his anger flare.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded. He hadn’t even known she was back in town, though that wasn’t necessarily surprising—they never really spoke anyway. But Clara’s answer left Jerry completely blindsided.
Secret Visits
“What, did you think you’re the only one visiting Dad?” Clara asked, and Jerry found that he had no words to respond. Calmly, his sister continued, revealing that she had returned to the U.S. months ago.
She had always kept in touch with their dad, and when he had told her Jerry was moving him to a nursing home a few months back, she came back to help him sort things out. While Jerry had been scheming to sell the family home, she had been quietly taking care of their father. Jerry opened his mouth to protest, but she wasn’t done.
The Inheritance
“You never cared about him,” Clara said, her voice thick with accusation. “All you wanted was the money. But Dad saw right through you, even before we found Mom’s will,” she continued. Jerry froze.
For 10 years, they’d all believed she had forgotten to write one, leaving them in limbo about what to do with her belongings. But Clara revealed that their father had recently found it while packing up the house. Their mother had left everything, including a secret inheritance no one had ever known about, to her beloved husband to distribute. Now, Jerry’s father had rewritten his own will. Jerry was sure to be disappointed with the outcome.
The Rewrite
Jack began to tell Jerry his own thought process. The discovery of the secret will and inheritance had forced him to reconsider what he wanted to leave for his children. But Jerry’s behavior over the last few months—or rather, the last few years—had only solidified Jack’s belief that his son deserved none of his money.
The inheritance, Jack told Jerry, would be going to his sister, who had shown genuine care for their father. Jerry, unfortunately, would be left with nothing. As for the house, well, Clara had made things difficult there for Jerry as well.
Sisterly Sabotage
“Dad told me that you had kicked him out of the house, so I’ve been watching you from the beginning. I knew about your plans,” his sister said. “I bet that open house this morning didn’t go as planned, did it?”
Jerry’s shoulders deflated as he listened to her confession. She had been working behind the scenes, sabotaging him every step of the way. Clara had contacted every potential buyer, telling them the open house was canceled. The news fell on him, shocking him into silence.
The Weight of it All
Suddenly, Jerry felt sick to his stomach as the full weight of his actions fell on him. All of his efforts—the time, the money, the open house—they had all been for nothing. His sister had played him like a fool.
He turned to his father, the guilt, fear, and shock all hitting him at once—what had he done any of this for? Now he was in a worse off position than he started. His mother would be so disappointed in him, he thought to himself. But his mother was gone, and all that remained was his father, staring at him with more resentment than ever before.
Unfamiliar Man
His father seemed truly unfamiliar now, no longer the man Jerry could blame for everything. For the first time, he saw him as a person—someone with feelings who, in his old age, had been the victim of Jerry’s carelessness and rude actions.
Jerry suddenly felt like a child, flooded with shame and embarrassment, emotions he had long associated with his father. But now he realized it was his own actions that had brought him to this moment. His father, frail but sharp, looked at him with a mix of sadness and disappointment. “I warned you,” he whispered. Jerry understood, far too late, the gravity of what he’d done.
Nothing Left to Say
Jerry realized he’d lost it all—the house, the inheritance, and the chance to reconcile with his family. His greed had cost him everything. He turned to go, but the footsteps behind him made him stop and turn around.
His sister approached, placing her hands on his shoulders, and spoke to him quietly. “You messed up bad this time, Jerry. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to make it right. Give him some time, pull yourself together, and maybe things will work out,” she said before turning and quietly closing the door to their dad’s room.
Clouded His Judgement
As Jerry walked away, he was forced to confront a truth he had long ignored. The house wasn’t just a financial opportunity—it had been a chance to reconnect with his family, a chance he had now ruined. There was no turning back—the damage was done.
Yet, this rude awakening had snapped him out of the selfishness that had controlled his life for as long as he could remember. With his sister’s words in his ears, he left the nursing home feeling ashamed, but it was oddly twinged with a tiny sliver of hope. There was a long road ahead to regain stability, but maybe this time, he’d leave his resentment and selfishness behind. He had better start thinking about how he was going to fix all of this.
Looking to the Future
Though Jerry had allowed his issues with his father to cloud his judgment, it wasn’t until he faced the full consequences of his choices that he realized just how much he had messed up. Now, with no money standing between their relationship and his father’s aging a constant reminder of time slipping away, Jerry found himself at a crossroads—continue living in resentment and disconnection or choose to make amends.
We wish Jerry the strength to make the right choice, and hope for his family’s health, so that maybe, Jack can live to see his son seek forgiveness and experience a change of heart.
