Jack went to check on his dog, Ralph, who wouldn’t stop barking on the street. To his surprise, Ralph was sitting beside an abandoned baby. That baby turned out to be a special girl who would change Jack’s life forever.
Although Jack was a wealthy man, he was also one of the kindest and most generous people in town. But his life took a painful turn three months ago when he found out his wife was cheating on him with his best friend.
After divorcing his wife, she moved to another state with his former best friend. Despite this betrayal, Jack didn’t let it make him bitter. He stayed kind to everyone, though people could tell he was still a lonely man deep down.
To help with his loneliness, Jack got a dog and named him Ralph. “At least you won’t betray me, right, Ralph?” he said, forcing a smile despite his pain.
Since Jack was busy, he had Ralph trained to behave well. In the afternoons, Ralph would run freely in the backyard, and when he got tired, he would come back inside on his own.
One day, Jack let Ralph outside as usual. While watching TV, he noticed Ralph hadn’t come back yet. Concerned, he stepped outside and heard barking in the distance.
Jack hurried over the fence to check. When he reached the road, he saw Ralph sitting next to a baby lying in the grass.
“You poor little one,” Jack said, feeling heartbroken that someone could abandon a helpless baby. He searched the area for anything belonging to the child but found nothing. The tiny baby, lying in a basket, was crying as Ralph gently nudged her with his nose, almost as if he felt sorry for her. Inside the basket, Jack found a note. With a heavy heart, he read it:
“Don’t look for her parents. This child is yours now. Take care of her.”
Before taking the baby home, Jack stopped at a nearby store to buy baby formula and diapers so he could care for her properly. At home, he fed her, changed her diapers, and then called the police to report what had happened.
“This poor baby was abandoned on the street with nothing but her clothes. I didn’t see any adults nearby, so I brought her home,” Jack explained.
The police said they would review CCTV footage in the area to try to locate her parents. In the meantime, they would look for foster parents to care for the baby.
Hearing this, Jack didn’t think twice. “Can I become her guardian?” he asked. “I work from home, so I’d have no trouble taking care of her.”
The police collected some more details and Jack’s ID before allowing the little girl to stay with him. He cared for her for months, and when it was confirmed that her parents couldn’t be found, she was put up for adoption.
Jack wasted no time and quickly completed the adoption papers. He named the little girl Emily, after his mother, who had raised him on her own. Jack loved Emily deeply and gave her everything she needed and more.
To Emily, Jack was her hero. She admired him and loved spending time with him. They shared meals, visited parks, enjoyed ice cream shops, and spent hours at the arcade together.
By the time Emily turned seven and started school, people couldn’t help but notice how much she resembled Jack. Parents, teachers, and even Jack’s friends often joked that they looked like twins.
Jack never saw Emily as his adopted daughter, so he always smiled when people commented on how much they looked alike, taking it as a compliment.
One day, while Emily was playing with Ralph in the backyard, she fell and scratched her head on the pavement. As Jack cleaned the wound with antiseptic, he noticed something surprising.
“Would you look at that, sweetheart? We have the same birthmark!” he said in shock. He had never seen it before because Emily’s hair had always covered it.
Emily smiled through her tears and said, “We were always meant to be together, Dad.”
Feeling curious, Jack decided to do a DNA test. He took a sample of Emily’s hair and sent it off with his own. He didn’t think much of it until the results came back three weeks later, leaving him stunned.
The test showed a 99.9% match—Emily was his biological daughter. Jack, who had always been a loyal man, realized the truth: his ex-wife had been pregnant with his child and had never told him.
Jack decided to call his ex-wife, and she picked up. “What do you want, Jack?” she asked coldly.
“Why didn’t you tell me we had a daughter?” he demanded.
“I didn’t want to raise your child, nor did I want to see you again, so I left her on the road. I knew you’d find her anyway. Bye now, and don’t ever call me again,” she said before hanging up.
Jack was in tears, unable to believe what he had just heard. While discovering that Emily was his biological daughter didn’t change how much he loved her, he felt grateful to have the chance to raise his own child.
Emily noticed her dad crying and walked up to him. “What’s wrong, Dad?” she asked.
“Nothing’s wrong, sweetheart. I’m just really happy,” Jack said, wiping his tears. “Remember when Dad told you that you were sent to me from heaven, even though I wasn’t your real dad?”
Emily nodded. “You are my real dad, Dad. Don’t forget that,” she said with a smile.
“Yes, sweetheart. I am your real dad. These DNA results prove that” he said, handing her the paper.
“I told you, dad. We were always meant to be together,” Emily said, hugging him.
A few years later, Jack found love again. Having been present in all of Emily’s school activities, he eventually fell in love with one of her teachers.
Two years after they got married, Emily gained a baby sister. Emily took on being a big sister with a lot of pride and joy.
Since then, Jack, Emily, and the rest of their family have lived peacefully and happily. They valued their time together as a family more than anything. This prompted Jack to retire early to spend more time with his children.