Mother’s favoritism in inheritance drives wedge between 4 siblings

The parents have four children — three sons and a daughter, who was the youngest. All of them have their own families, are financially secure and live in big cities. The father stays in their hometown while the mother lives with the daughter’s family elsewhere.

Everything seemed peaceful until the second son had an affair with an old classmate back in their hometown. He wanted to buy a house near his mistress but did not have enough money.

The second son, who is more favored as he received a better education and looks more handsome than his brothers, then persuaded his parents to sell the family house and help him with his home purchase.

Although the mother had known about the affair for nearly two years, she hid this from his wife. She also did not tell the other children that she planned to give most of the family assets to the second son. But the youngest daughter accidentally discovered both secrets and decided to take action.

She told her brother to stop the affair and, when that failed, informed their parents. She also warned them they would be disgraced if his in-laws found out they were lending him money to buy a house near his mistress.

Nonetheless, the parents deemed that she was trying to ruin her brother’s marriage, and the mother even spread rumors that she was lying to secure inheritance.

Things became more complicated when the second son’s wife found out about the affair and hired a private investigator to gather evidence. Although she obtained proof that the second son had visited his mistress’s house multiple times and had been picked up or dropped off at the airport by her, he still denied everything and did not offer a single apology.

He even claimed that his wife had staged everything in order to divorce him and seize his assets. He also lied to his wife and parents-in-law that his siblings were greedy and fighting over the family house, even though they had never once brought up or requested inheritance.

When the eldest son found out about the whole ordeal, he too was isolated and slandered along with the daughter. Their parents claimed they were just jealous and that the eldest son had been absent in recent years, all as an excuse to give the second son most of the family assets.

The reason for the eldest’s absence also came down to the second son. The former had partially funded his two brothers’ education, but the middle one had been rude and disrespectful toward him. Their parents vehemently defended the second son, prompting the eldest to grow distant from the family.

The youngest son had previously received some money from the second son, so he sided with him. The youngest’s wife had long been envious of the youngest daughter, so she took the chance to fabricate stories and insult her. When the youngest daughter reacted, her parents did not bat an eye.

In the end, the mother’s favoritism toward the second son split the family into two sides. On one side were the parents and the youngest son’s family, supporting the second son. On the other were the families of the eldest son and the youngest daughter. The extended family no longer gathers for meals or holidays. How sad indeed.

*The opinion was translated into English with the assistance of AI. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress’ viewpoints.