Adam loved children, so he readily accepted when a friend offered him a job as a janitor at a local children’s park. With no family of his own, he had always dreamed of having children. However, after his wife left him several years ago, he lost hope and chose to remain single.
One day, the 31-year-old was making his rounds in the park. He was exhausted, so he sat down by the slide and watched the children screaming and running around. Suddenly, a loud noise startled him. A little girl pedaling her bike had hit the concrete floor with a terrifying noise and started crying…
«Hey I’m coming!… I’m coming!», Adam ran to the girl’s rescue. He picked her up and put her on the bench. He saw that her elbow and knees were severely injured. The girl was in terrible pain and couldn’t stop crying.
Adam rushed to the treatment room and came running back with a first aid kit. He cleaned the girl’s wounds. He was worried about her and couldn’t leave her alone like that, so he decided to help her get home.
«Are you sure your parents aren’t around?» he asked the girl when she told him she was alone. «And what’s your name?»
«Lori.»
«Okay, Lori. Can you tell me where your house is? I’ll take you there.»
The girl took Adam to her house, which was not far from the park. He rang the doorbell, and a tall, skinny man opened the door a few minutes later.
«Hey, is she your daughter? She fell off her bike at the park. I work there,» Adam said.
To his surprise, the man, Fredrick, did not react or even look at Lori’s injuries. Instead, he was indifferent and frowned.
«Oh, all right! Just leave her and go. Thank you!» he said hastily.
«Okay? !», Adam grunted.
And just as he turned to leave, he saw a picture on the living room wall. It was of his ex-wife, Bethany.
Adam couldn’t believe his eyes. He and Bethany had divorced six years ago because of domestic disputes. They’d lost touch since then, and Adam assumed she’d moved out for good. But he had no idea she was living in the same city and had married someone else.
Several doubts popped into his head. He looked down at Lori and asked, «Who is that woman in the picture?»
The young girl replied, «My mother! She died when I was little.»
Adam was stunned, and as he went back to work, he couldn’t get the image of Bethany out of his mind. More importantly, he wondered about Lori. She looked to be about six years old, and it had been six years since he and Bethany had split up. «Am I missing something?» he thought.
The next day, Adam waited for Lori at the park. She had told him that she came regularly. He waited at the spot where she had fallen off her bike the day before. He doubted she would come because she was badly hurt. But Lori showed up, although she didn’t bring her bike. She had come to thank the kind man who had helped her get home.
«Hello, sir! Thank you for helping me yesterday. Look, I drew a picture for you!» she held out her hand to show Adam the picture.
Adam was delighted. «Oh, that’s so sweet of you, Lori! And where is your father?»
The young girl frowned. «That man must be in the house. I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since this morning.»
«That MAN??» Adam couldn’t understand why Lori had called his father «that man.» His doubts were redoubling. As Lori talked about her hobbies and favorite cartoons, Adam plucked a few strands of her hair at the roots to send for 2 separate DNA tests.
The results that came in two weeks later shocked Adam. Based on the result, he was definitely Lori’s biological father, with a 99.9% probability for both tests.
Adam cried out, «WHAT?! Lori is my daughter?»
Adam had always wanted to start a family, and this discovery left him speechless. He was happy and confused at the same time. He had no idea why the late Bethany had kept their child from him. He wanted answers and knew there was only one person who could help him — Fredrick, Bethany’s second husband.
The next day, Adam arrived on the man’s doorstep, demanding answers.
«DNA tests don’t lie. I’ve done several with different companies. The results are accurate. Lori is my daughter. How is that possible, and why didn’t my wife tell me?»
Fredrick refused to answer Adam. He slammed the door and wouldn’t let the girl out. «Get out, or I’ll call the cops!» he threatened Adam.
«I’m leaving now, but I’ll see you in court!», Adam yelled back at him. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Lori’s voice. She was waiting to speak to him by his bedroom window.
«Adam, why are you leaving? I drew a picture. Do you want to see it?»
Adam approached her and asked about Fredrick. «Lori, can you tell me about this man in your house?»
The girl’s answer startled him.
«He doesn’t like me at all. After Mom died, he was always yelling at me and never allowed me to play or talk to my friends. He is always rude to me. He locks me in my room and then goes out. He comes home late and doesn’t give me food when I’m hungry.»
Furious, Adam realized that he could no longer leave his daughter with this man. He petitioned the court for custody of the child, providing proof that he was Lori’s biological father.
To his surprise, Fredrick challenged him in court. Adam didn’t understand why this man, who didn’t seem to care about Lori, was fighting for custody. «Why does he want to raise her? Is there something I’m missing?»
Eventually, Adam was granted legal guardianship of his daughter. After the hearing, an attorney handling the late Bethany’s estate met with him to make another shocking revelation. A revelation that helped Adam unravel the mystery of why Fredrick was too interested in taking Lori into his custody.
«Mr. Parker, congratulations on winning the case. Now, here are the documents for the house. Lori’s mother had willed the property to her daughter. She will legally inherit it when she turns 18. Until then, her father or guardian would be the legal custodian of the entire estate.»
Things were now clear to Adam. He understood that this was the reason Fredrick wanted the child in his custody. He wasn’t interested in raising Lori but in claiming his inheritance. In addition, it turned out that he had no other place to live and was surviving on the house left by his late wife.
Adam filed a lawsuit against Fredrick, who was subsequently arrested for confining the child and abusing her. Frederick received a lengthy prison sentence for his greed.
Meanwhile, Adam moved in with his daughter. He was so happy to have a child of his own. He forgave his late ex-wife, and although he couldn’t guess why she didn’t reveal her pregnancy to him, he was happy that fate had finally united him with his daughter he didn’t know existed.
«Are you going to live with me?», Lori asked her, «I’m so happy. Isn’t that man coming back? I don’t like him.»
«Yes, sweetheart! And from now on, I’m your DADDY! Don’t you worry. That bad man is gone from us. He’s never coming back. Your daddy is here to protect you!», Adam said as he held his little girl close to his heart.
