"Mr Hon, your aunt is diagnosed with a tumour in her stomach. It can be treated by surgery, but it will cost a lot." Upon hearing those dreaded words, Eric's world shattered. His aunt Beth, who had been raising him ever since his parents passed away in an accident, had been diagnosed with a tumour in her stomach. Although surgery could help remove the tumour, the cost was very high. Eric had exhausted almost his savings to pay for the surgery, but it was not enough. It was then that he hit upon the idea of breaking into rich people's houses. He would ransack those houses and make off with some cash and valuables. After all, the value of those valuables would be peanuts to the wealthy. Eric did some research before setting his sights on one of the houses. Its owner is Phyllis Yim, a 60 year old lady who lived alone. She is also blind, which made it an easy target for Eric. He went through his plan twice, and decided to set it into motion.
Eric went to his target house. To his delight, the main door was not locked. He opened the door silently tiptoed into the house, expecting to see large sums of cash lying around the house. But instead, he found the elderly lady sitting in the living room. She was holding a white cane, confirming that she was blind.
"Son, Howard, is that you?" Phyllis asked, with a tone of suspicion.
"Yes, Mom. It's me, I'm back," Eric whispered in a tone which is not likely to arouse the elderly lady's suspicions.
"It's good that you're back, son. Mum miss you so much," she said, seemingly lowering her suspicions.
"I miss you too, and I'll never leave you again," Eric replied. Seeing that Phyllis had mistaken him for her son, he decided to gain her trust to get her hands on her money for his aunt Beth's operation.
Over the next few days, Eric observed Phyllis' every move, especially where she kept her money. But as he got to know her, he realized that the elderly lady really treated him like his own son, which made him feel guilty for his motive.
Eric received a call from the doctor, telling him that his aunt Beth required treatment within a week, asking him to get the money ready. He felt sorry for Phyllis, whom he had regarded as a mother figure other than his aunt Beth. However, he had no choice as she needed the money for the operation, and he really wanted her to recover. "I'm sorry, I have to do this," he muttered under his breath. Knowing where Phyllis kept her money, Eric went into her room when she was not around. He reached for her treasure box and saw a wad of thousand dollar notes. But just as Eric was about to make off with the cash, he found a letter. It was written by Phyllis to him. In the letter, she stated that she had long known that Eric was not her son, and her real son Howard had been shot dead when committing an armed robbery. While she was initially sceptical of him, she had grown to regard him as her own son. She also stated that she had overheard Eric's phone conversation with the doctor, thereby knowing about Beth's illness. She asked for Eric to take the money, knowing that he needed it more. Upon reading the letter, Eric felt so ashamed that he could not hold back tears.
3 months later, Beth recovered and had been discharged from the hospital. Eric had also become a godson to Phyllis, who by that time, had become friends with Beth. It was revealed that Eric did not take Phyllis' money, but instead, he started a crowdfunding platform to raise funds for Beth's surgery. Fortunately, many netizens donated to the campaign, and he managed to raise enough money for Beth to go through the surgery. Both Eric and Beth were grateful to Phyllis for having led Eric on the right path, and they decided to take care of her. This was good news for Phyllis, who no longer had to spend the rest of her life alone.
