My unknown sister showed up at dad’s funeral
By u/DougJHFTB: When I was just 17 yrs old, my father left us forever. It was a difficult time for our family, and during the visitation, something unexpected happened. A young woman arrived with her boyfriend, who appeared to be a few years older than me. Surprisingly, no one in our family recognized her. When we asked her why she was there, she explained that she had come to pay her respects to her father. This revelation left my siblings and me perplexed while our mother stood silently shaking her head. Eventually, our uncles stepped in and politely asked the young woman to leave. Tearfully embraced by her boyfriend, she departed from the funeral home.
Years later, our mother finally revealed the truth that our father had an affair years ago and that the young woman involved was actually our stepsister. However, I never learned her name or had the chance to meet him. It’s something I’ve always wished for – the opportunity to apologize on behalf of my family. The memory of her feeling rejected and in tears, unable to attend a viewing for her deceased father, still weighs heavily on my conscience even now.
Grandpa was in the Secret Service
By u/haroldtitus425: After the passing of my grandfather on my father’s side, we received a call from the government offering a state funeral. We accepted their gesture without hesitation, but when the day of the funeral arrived, it turned out to be quite extravagant. Not only was there a grand procession, but also high-profile individuals like department heads, senators, retired senators, and even members from the CIA attended. This unexpected display left our family feeling bewildered. Later, we discovered that my grandfather had played a crucial role in the Office of Strategic Services (OSI) during World War II. As the OSI transformed into the CIA and Secret Service, he decided to pursue a career in the Secret Service.
Surprisingly, he wasn’t assigned to the White House detail. Instead, he worked in a covert office dedicated to dealing with counterfeiting and currency issues. What’s even more peculiar is that he had kept this hidden from everyone, with only my grandmother being entrusted with the secret and sworn to absolute confidentiality.
Grandma’s Secret Recipe was KFC
By-u/beaubandit: Recently, my grandmother passed away. She was known throughout our town for her incredible talent in the kitchen and her catering services. In particular, people couldn’t resist her delicious gravy. Before she passed away, she suffered a heart attack, which led him to finally share some of her prized recipes with me. However, she always kept the recipe for her famous gravy a closely guarded secret.
While organizing my late grandmother’s pantry this spring, I came across a surprising find – a large container of KFC gravy mix. It turns out that she had been using this secret ingredient as the base for her incredible homemade gravy. This unexpected find sparked quite a revelation and became a heated topic of discussion in the family.
Mom Cheated On My Dad With My Now-Stepfather
By u/forshuregirl: In 1996, my parents got divorced due to my mother’s affair with my now-stepfather. I had known about the divorce, but it was only on my 18th birthday that my stepfather confessed to me in private. He admitted to the affair and expressed genuine remorse for being partly responsible for our family breaking apart.
Years later, my stepmother revealed to me that my mom had actually asked my dad to leave without giving any explanation; she simply said she needed some time apart. It wasn’t until later that my dad found out from the landlord that my stepfather had moved in.
The More the Merrier
By U/Ggabitron: I had a childhood best friend who had a fascinating family situation. It was unclear who her biological father was because her mother had been dating two men when she became pregnant, and both claimed to be the father. Instead of causing conflict, they decided to embrace the unique circumstance by referring to one man as ‘Dad’ and the other as ‘Papa.’ Throughout our upbringing, my friend strongly resembled ‘Dad,’ which led everyone to assume he was her father. Despite this assumption, they never pursued a DNA test because ‘Papa’ wanted to maintain their connection.
As she entered puberty, significant changes became noticeable. She stopped growing taller, her chest developed, and her hair transformed into beautiful curls. It became clear that her biological father was evident. Now in our twenties, she stands at 5’1″ with a curvaceous figure and a voluminous head of curly hair. She has become a striking resemblance to her older half-brother, who is also the son of ‘Papa.’
The Silent Service
By u/alittlefaith530: After my grandfather’s passed away from cancer in the 1970s, I found myself curious about his life. Armed with a desire to uncover more, I embarked on a research journey into his past. To my astonishment, I unearthed that he had served as part of the British Commandos due to his Welsh lineage. Eager to explore further, I delved deeper into my investigation, hoping to connect with any surviving comrades. However, what I discovered was disheartening – every single one of them had sadly passed away, most facing their own battles with cancer.
Armed with my newly acquired knowledge, I finally found the courage to approach my grandmother and share my discoveries. To my utter disbelief, she unveiled a stash of photographs capturing my grandfather’s presence in a particular Japanese city following the devastating detonation of an atomic bomb.
Shocking Confession
By u/Icosotc: A week before my younger sister’s wedding, my father called a family meeting at his house. The atmosphere was tense as we gathered, unsure of what important matter he needed to discuss. Our minds raced with worries that he might be facing a serious health issue like cancer. With tears in his eyes, he revealed the shocking news: he had a 5-year-old son living in the neighbouring town. This child was conceived and born during his marriage to my mother. He explained that it wasn’t until recently, after conducting a DNA test, that he became certain of the child’s paternity.
As evidence of his statement, he presented a photo of our recently discovered half-brother, who bore a striking resemblance to our father.
Daddy Dearest
u/UncleSlayton: Fast forward to approximately three years ago. I had recently taken a test and noticed a slight reduction in my score, which I attributed to what I believed was a matter of semantics. I discussed this with my father, along with other individuals, seeking their opinions on whether it was indeed a matter of semantics. My father wasn’t entirely certain, but he leaned towards agreeing with my perspective. The following day, I engaged in a discussion with the teacher, and I successfully regained the lost points. However, my curiosity persisted, prompting me to conduct an online search to explore the issue further.
During my online research, I stumbled upon a forum post addressing the EXACT SAME ISSUE, featuring the very question I had encountered on the test. I assumed it might be someone I had previously consulted, but the profile picture belonged to a woman I had never met. To investigate further, I decided to browse the user’s posting history. It was during this process that I made the unexpected discovery that my father is a transgender individual. My immediate reaction was to verify this by examining his closet.
The Tragic Death of Angel
By u/GrandadsLadyFriend: One day, a delightful surprise awaited us in our yard – a pet rabbit that we immediately named Angel. As time went on, he grew into an adorably large creature with captivating dark eyes and charmingly lopsided ears. While he brought us joy, there was one rather unpleasant habit – sitting in his waste, which required us to give him weekly baths. Sadly, just three days later, Angel passed away unexpectedly, leaving us wondering about the cause of his death. We speculated if perhaps a spider had bitten him. In good humour, we playfully teased my mom by jokingly blaming her for his untimely fate outdoors.
We found it quite amusing how, even years after his passing, my mom would still become emotional whenever Angel’s death was mentioned. It struck us as truly peculiar. One evening, while we were playfully teasing my mother about Angel’s fate once again, she unexpectedly snapped at my dad. In a frustrated tone, she exclaimed, “Can’t I just tell them already?!” His outburst left us speechless. It turns out that when she lifted Angel’s lifeless body from the cage, a disturbing swarm of maggots spilt out from his rear end. My mom theorizes that flies had laid eggs in the waste he often sat in, and the larvae had infiltrated his body. This traumatic ordeal filled her with guilt and haunted her for years. She even confessed to still having nightmares about it.
Lost Brother
While sharing a meal with our recently found twin daughters, my husband and I lifted our glasses for a celebratory toast. To our surprise, one of the girls looked puzzled and asked, “Wait… if we’re twins, where’s our brother?” This question made my husband panic, and he felt speechless for a few moments.
The daughter interrupted, revealing a piece of information that caught me off guard. “You remember the child you gave up for adoption? Well, we found each other and in the photo sent by the adoption agency, there he was.” I took a deep breath before responding. “I didn’t realize you had seen that photo. Unfortunately, your brother passed away not long after his adoption. He drowned during a fishing trip with his new family. We didn’t want you to have to face this loss so soon after being reunited.”
Grandma’s Revenge
Three men abducted my grandpa during his youth, leaving a lasting emotional scar. He returned, concealing the incident from everyone, including my Grandma. Following his passing, our Grandma sold our family farm to a developer who made a shocking discovery while inspecting the property. In a phone call, my friend informed me, ‘I’m contacting the authorities regarding your grandma.’ Perplexed, I inquired, ‘What’s going on?’ He replied, ‘There are three men imprisoned in the barn cellar, alive but severely malnourished.
They claim your Grandma had held them captive ever since your grandpa disclosed what happened to him. They’ve endured this for years.’ Shocked, I protested, ‘That can’t be true; my grandma wouldn’t do such a thing.’ Regrettably, my friend informed me she had just confessed.
The Secret Burden
By u/blammer: Approximately three years after I was born, my mother made the difficult decision to have an abortion. This happened during the time between my arrival and the birth of my younger brother. The reason behind this choice stemmed from my father’s desire to limit the number of daughters in our family, as I already had two step-sisters. He encouraged my mother to terminate her pregnancy with a potential little sister of mine. While my younger brother was allowed to enter this world, this situation left me with deep emotional wounds.
For a long time, I held resentment and sadness towards my father, which still affects our relationship today. I feel uneasy when spending time alone with him and prefer to keep some distance.
My Father’s Fate
u/nightcrawler616: Recently, I made a disturbing discovery that my father had passed away two years ago, and no one deemed it necessary to inform me. Given his tendency to wander and possible Asperger’s syndrome, I had been actively searching for him. As his only child, this revelation was quite shocking. It came to light as I was researching my family history on Ancestry when I stumbled upon his gravestone listed as ‘beloved brother’ on findagrave.com. My aunts and uncles have shown an utter lack of consideration in not reaching out to me.
It’s disheartening to realize that he passed away alone, with the VA covering the burial expenses while I remain unaware of the circumstances surrounding his death.
From Hero to Zero
By u/SheWasEighteen: As a young child, I was under the impression that my parents had divorced mutually. However, it came as a shock to discover that my father had been involved in an affair with his partner’s wife, which definitely earned him the title of “biggest piece of s—“.
I also learned that my mother’s eyebrow injury wasn’t accidental but rather the result of her discovering the affair and a heated altercation between her and my father, during which he punched her in the face. The truth only fully unraveled for me recently, at 19 years old.
