I Moved Into An Abandoned House To Escape My Toxic Divorce. I Found A 7-year-old Hiding In My Basement Stealing Honey. When I Took Him Home, I Realized He’s My Biological Son. What Do I Do Now?

A Fresh Start in Ohio

Stephen Hughes didn’t really make any arrangements before moving to Ohio; it was a rather spontaneous decision on his part. According to the doctors, the change of scenery was supposed to benefit the young businessman.

The fact was that life in the heart of the stone jungle didn’t help Stefan’s deteriorating health. Thus, the businessman decided to buy a small plot of land and a house in Ohio. Its former owner, Charles Batler, died two years ago, and the house had been uninhabited ever since then.

Stefan bought it from some distant relative of the old man for next to nothing. The man was so happy to get rid of this property that he gave Stefan a good discount. The house itself was located outside the city and stood next to an abandoned farm, which apparently once belonged to the neighbor of the late Charles Batler.

There was a dirt road leading to the house. It was in a terrible state, all covered in potholes. That was why Stefan had to drive his Chevrolet at the speed of a turtle crawling over a dried-out pond.

“That’s not even a road. I guess I’ll have to get an SUV, and soon,” the businessman caught himself thinking.

The man rarely came out to these kinds of places, and therefore he felt like a Pioneer who discovered a near-hitherto unknown area on the world map. Dust covered Stephen’s Chevy completely, making it virtually invisible for him to see anything through the windshield. If it weren’t for the wipers, which had been working nonstop ever since he turned onto the dirt road, he simply wouldn’t have been able to drive.

Stefan was relieved to finally see the outlines of the dilapidated farm buildings, cattle pens, and rusty water tanks ahead of him.

“What a trip! I can’t believe I actually made it,” Stefan exclaimed and took a bottle of water out of his backpack with his free hand.

Having pulled into the yard, the businessman parked his car by the fence and headed towards the house. It was quite hot outside, and Stefan had to unbutton his shirt almost halfway in order not to get a heat stroke.

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Having barely managed to open the front door, Stefan cautiously stepped inside the house and looked around. Despite the fact that it was uninhabited for a long time, it looked rather comfortable. There was no feeling of the chaos that is usually inherent in most bachelor dwellings.

All the things seemed to be in their places, and only a thick layer of dust and cobwebs on the walls proved that the house had been empty for quite some time. Walking from room to room, Stefan was making a mental assessment of all the work he needed to do on the house.

Soon, the man found himself taking a trip down memory lane, thinking back to the happy and careless days of his childhood. Stefan was the only son in his family, and therefore he always got more than enough of parental attention and affection.

During the summer holidays, he always went to visit his grandmother, whose house was located by the river. Stefan explored the surrounding nature from morning to night, riding his bicycle and taking pictures of everything. This continued until he started college, after which he didn’t have any time left for traveling, and thus he had to give up on this tradition. Nevertheless, Stefan still came to visit his grandmother once in a while.

Unfortunately, the businessman’s personal life wasn’t any good. A year ago, Stefan’s wife left him for a more successful man whose fortune amounted to several dozens of millions of dollars. The worst part for Stefan was that he personally knew his wife’s lover, and therefore he felt even more betrayed by her affair.

By that time, the businessman already suspected that his wife didn’t love him and only stayed with him for the money. However, when Susan left him for another man, he had no more doubts left on that account. His wife’s betrayal had an extremely painful effect on Stefan’s state of mind.

Unfortunately, the man turned to a bottle of whiskey for solace. The fact was that he didn’t have many past relationships, so he wasn’t used to the pain of breaking up with someone. Therefore, Stefan took his divorce very hard.

The Mysterious Light in the Basement

Trying to get rid of the intrusive memories, the businessman shook his head, after which he took a few steps around the house and stopped in front of the door leading into the basement. Stefan knew that most people used basements to store vegetables and canned food, which zealous farmers usually prepared for the winter.

Stefan didn’t know whether Charles Batler had any, and therefore he decided to see what was in the basement. But when the businessman approached the door leading into the basement, it turned out that it was unlocked. Moreover, he could see a muffled light a bit in the distance, which looked strange.

“I wonder what’s going on there,” Stefan thought anxiously and went down, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Since the wiring in the basement was faulty, the man couldn’t turn on the light. Stefan used the flashlight on his phone to illuminate his path so as to not stumble and fall down. He still had a couple of feet to go when the mysterious light downstairs went out just as suddenly as it had appeared.

Stefan felt rather uncomfortable. His mind immediately came up with all kinds of images from horror movies that he liked watching as a child. Despite the fact that Stefan never thought of himself as a coward, he really didn’t want to be in the basement anymore.

Then he heard a rustling sound coming from below, which alerted him that someone or something was down there. Directing his flashlight at his feet, Stefan instinctively tensed up when he heard the sound again. Then he heard a muffled scream, and some unknown creature rushed at him.

Stefan tried to back up, but he immediately fell down. The fall was quite painful and caused the businessman to cry out for a brief moment. There was complete silence in the basement, after which a frightened childish voice exclaimed,

“What’s going on, Sir? What are you so afraid of, and what are you doing here?”

It was only then that Stefan realized that he was talking to a boy of about seven who was hiding in the corner and was trembling with fear.

“Oh, what am I doing here? What are you talking about, kid? This is my house. I bought it a month ago,” Stefan replied indignantly.