My mom lied to a man and told him I was his son, and frequently extorted money from him by telling him she needed it to raise me.
I found out when he showed up with gifts shortly after I had moved out on my own. He had hired a PI after my mom refused to give him my contact info. He apologized for not being in my life and cried while telling me he was dying and didn’t want to go without meeting me.
I asked my mom about it, and she told me she told him that so she could get money from him after she left my dad. DNA tests confirmed he was not my dad.
I only ever met him the one time. I took the gifts because it was such a surreal experience, I didn’t know how to tell him anything other than that I forgave him. My mom is the only other person who knows this happened. © Brilliant_Succotash1 / Reddit
For illustrative purpose only
Story 5
My dad is very middle-class, runs his own business, and is a stand-up kind of guy…
Until I found out that he spent some years in prison a few decades back. He worked as a pharmaceutical rep, stole the meds from his employer, and sold them to the chemists for knock-down prices. Thought that was bad? That’s nothing…
I found out about 14 months ago that he’d stolen £40,000 from me and my brother. © abittooshort / Reddit
Story 6
I discovered a friend of mine is insanely rich. We grew up together, and then we lost touch. When we ran into each other again, we just started hanging out like normal—regular bars, regular restaurants, etc. Then we were talking about looking for jobs, and he said he had found a couple, but nothing he wanted.
I was surprised because I knew he had been out of work for a while. So I asked, and he told me how much money he had. I was shocked but found it really cool how he hasn’t changed at all because of it. © Unknown author / Reddit
Story 7
My uncle got his college girlfriend pregnant with twins. My grandfather gave him money to marry her, but he abandoned her and signed away all rights. The twins reached out to my grandparents after they turned 18 and built a relationship with them.
I know because my grandfather told my brother while we were in college. He wanted to make sure someone would let them know when my grandparents passed away. My cousins, who I was extremely close to in my youth, have two sisters they know nothing about. © FruityOatyThrace / Reddit
For illustrative purpose only
Story 8
