My future stepmother told my orphaned little brothers that they would soon be “sent to a new family” – so we gave her the toughest lesson.

Joyce, as always, played the victim card.

“Everyone is attacking me! I’m just telling the truth!” she lamented.

She then left in a dramatic fashion.

A person like her doesn’t stop until she feels she has won, but even I couldn’t have imagined what she did next.

A sad woman | Source: Pexels
A sad woman | Source: Pexels

I had to go on a business trip. It was only for two nights. It was the first time I’d left the boys since the fire. Mark stayed home. Everything seemed fine.

Until I crossed the threshold.

As soon as I opened it, the twins rushed towards me, sobbing so hard they couldn’t breathe. I dropped my luggage onto the welcome baggage carousel.

“Caleb, what happened? Liam, what’s wrong?”

A crying boy | Source: Pexels
A crying boy | Source: Pexels

They continued to talk, crying, their words a mixture of terror and confusion.

I asked them to calm down by taking them in my arms.

Grandma Joyce had come with “gifts” for the boys.

A woman holding a brown leather bag | Source: Pexels
A woman holding a brown leather bag | Source: Pexels

While Mark was preparing dinner, she gave the boys suitcases: a bright blue one for Liam and a green one for Caleb.

“Open them!” she had insisted.

The suitcases were filled with clothes, toothbrushes, and small toys. As if she had planned their lives in advance.