While renovating her late parents’ home, Janet uncovered more than just memories. She found a decades-old Christmas gift hidden inside the kitchen wall, wrapped in brittle paper and marked with her name. Inside, a VHS tape bore a chilling message: “This will change your life.” What followed on the tape revealed a family secret that would shatter everything she thought she knew.
Standing in the kitchen with a sledgehammer in hand, Janet froze when she heard a strange thunk against the drywall. It wasn’t the sound of a stud or a pipe. Curious, she chipped away at the plaster, revealing a small package wrapped in fading Christmas paper adorned with snowmen.
Her breath caught when she saw her name scrawled across it in her mother’s handwriting.
With trembling hands, Janet tore into the fragile paper. Inside, she found a VHS tape and an ominous note: “This will change your life.”
Her heart raced as she stared at the tape. What was this? Driven by a mix of curiosity and dread, she retrieved her old TV and VCR from the basement and set them up in the living room.
The screen flickered to life. A boy appeared, reciting a poem with an infectious grin. Janet didn’t recognize him, but his youthful energy made her smile. Then the image shifted.
Her parents, decades younger, sat together on their old floral couch. Her mother’s voice broke the silence. “My darling Janet,” she said softly. “There’s something we need to tell you.”
Her father continued, his voice heavy with emotion. “You were born with a severe heart defect. The doctors didn’t think you’d survive. We spent years fearing we might lose you.”
Janet’s hand instinctively pressed to her chest, the steady rhythm of her heartbeat suddenly feeling unfamiliar.
“But then,” her mother continued, her voice thick with tears, “a miracle happened. The boy at the start of this tape—his name was Adam—passed away unexpectedly. His family donated his organs. Janet, his heart is inside you.”
Janet’s breath hitched. The scar she’d always been told was from a childhood accident now held a new, profound significance. Adam’s heart had kept her alive all these years, and her parents had kept it a secret.
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