Richard drove down the road with a nervous tap of his fingers on the steering wheel. It had been years since Deidre used to come visit him every Thanksgiving, but that stopped after his wife passed away four years ago. Now, they just spoke over the phone once a week. It wasn’t the same.
But today was different. It was his big eightieth birthday, and he was eager to spend it with his daughter. He smiled as he reached her house, excitement bubbling inside him. He spread his arms wide, ready for a cheerful surprise.
“Surprise!” he shouted as Deidre opened the door.
But instead of joy, Deidre’s face was streaked with tears. “Dad? What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Richard’s heart sank. “I came to celebrate my birthday with you… it’s the big eight-o!” he said, but his excitement quickly faded when he noticed the tears on her face. “What’s wrong, honey? Why are you crying?”
Deidre quickly wiped her tears away and forced a smile. “It’s nothing, Dad. Everything’s fine. I just… I wasn’t expecting you, and this isn’t really a good time. I’m, uh, busy with work. I’ll call you later. We’ll have dinner, okay? Sorry.”
Before Richard could say anything more, she shut the door, leaving him standing outside, confused and hurt. Something was off. Richard’s gut told him there was trouble, and he wasn’t wrong.
He took a step back from the door but didn’t leave. Instead, he carefully moved past the flowering shrubs lining the path and crouched down to peek through the window. What he saw made his stomach drop.
Inside, two rough-looking men were sitting in the living room with Deidre.
“Who was that?” one of the men asked, his voice harsh.
“Nobody,” Deidre replied, her voice shaky. “Just a neighbor’s kid… pulling a prank.”
The second man didn’t look convinced. “Back to business then,” he said. “You’re six months behind on your loan repayments, Deidre. Mr. Marco’s getting impatient.”
Deidre’s face went pale. “I just need more time. The business will pick up again in the winter, I swear.”
“Time’s not something you’ve got, sweetie,” the man sneered, pulling out a gun and aiming it at her. “People who owe Mr. Marco money don’t last long. They end up feeding the fishes in the lake.”
Richard froze in horror as he watched, unable to move. But then the thug looked at her with disgust and tucked the gun away.
“Look around,” he said to the other man. “She’s a businesswoman, so there must be something valuable around here. A computer, maybe?”
“I need those things!” Deidre cried. “I can’t make money without them!”
“Too bad,” the man said, tapping the butt of his gun. “Don’t get too emotional now.”
The men tore through her house, grabbing anything they could find of value before storming out. Deidre collapsed onto the floor, sobbing.
Richard’s mind was racing. Deidre’s business had been doing well, or so she had told him. But this? This didn’t make sense. She was in trouble, and he knew he had to help her.
The men loaded up several appliances and left in their vehicle. Richard waited until they drove away, then followed them, heart pounding.
The men pulled into a two-story brick building downtown—an old bar, by the looks of it. The place was closed, but the door was unlocked. No one stopped Richard as he slipped inside.
He spotted the men sitting at a large table with several other rough-looking guys. One of them stood up, his eyes narrowing when he saw Richard.
“The club’s closed,” he growled. “Come back later.”
But Richard didn’t back down. “I’m here to discuss Deidre’s debt.”
The man at the head of the table stood up, eyeing Richard. He was dressed like a businessman, but a deep scar above his left eye told Richard he was no stranger to violence. This must be Mr. Marco.
“How much does she owe you?” Richard asked, trying to keep his voice steady despite his fear.
Mr. Marco smirked. “Deidre took out an $80,000 loan from me. She was supposed to pay it back with the profits from her business. The only problem is, she hasn’t made any.”
Richard’s heart dropped. “$80,000? I… I have about $20,000 in savings.”
“That’s a quarter of what she owes,” Mr. Marco sighed, his tone full of mock sympathy. “But there’s something you can do to make up the difference.”
Richard didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you want me to do?”
Mr. Marco leaned in closer, his grin widening. “My partner and I recently started importing cars to Canada. The paperwork’s been delayed, so we’ve been having some… trouble getting the ‘merchandise’ across the border. A sweet, innocent grandpa like you should have no trouble getting one of our cars through customs.”
Richard felt a cold shiver run down his spine. But he knew he had no choice. He had to do whatever it took to save his daughter.
Later that night, Richard drove to a gas station near the border. As he stepped out of the car, he noticed a police cruiser parked nearby. A German Shepherd inside the car began barking furiously, its eyes locked on Richard. His heart skipped a beat.
“Jesus,” he muttered, panic rising in his chest. He quickly climbed back into the car and slammed the door shut. The dog went wild, barking and pawing at the window. Richard started the engine and put the car in reverse, his hands shaking.
Two police officers rushed out of the store and yelled at him to stop. Richard ignored them, his foot pressed down hard on the gas pedal. He swerved through traffic, narrowly avoiding other cars, the sirens wailing behind him.
Ahead, he spotted a narrow, unmarked dirt road that veered into the forest. Without thinking, he swerved onto it, pushing the car to its limits. The muddy path made it hard to drive, but Richard was desperate. He had to escape.
The car slid down a narrow incline, and then Richard’s stomach dropped. The car was stuck—its nose dangerously close to the edge of a river. He tried to reverse, but the tires spun helplessly.
“No!” Richard shouted, yanking the parking brake, but it didn’t stop the car. The front bumper hit the water with a loud splash, and within seconds, the river surged into the car, flooding the interior.
Richard’s panic grew as the water crept up his legs. With a final desperate shove, he yanked the door open, fighting against the rising pressure. Water rushed in, pushing the door shut again. Richard squeezed his body out of the car and kicked for the surface. He gasped for air, swimming toward the riverbank.
When he reached solid ground, he was shaken to the core. He had come so close to drowning. But the money… he still had to figure out how to pay off Deidre’s debt.
The next day, Richard went to the bank and asked to mortgage his house. “I need the cash in my account, fast,” he said urgently.
He was pacing nervously when his phone rang. It was Deidre. “Dad, some thugs from a local gang were just here asking about you… what’s going on?”
Richard didn’t hesitate. “Tell them I’ll be there soon. I’ve arranged to pay off your debt. But we’ll talk about that later, Deidre. It’s not the time right now.”
Richard signed the paperwork at the bank, his heart heavy. He didn’t want to lose the home where he had shared so many memories with his family. But he would do whatever it took to protect his daughter.
Hours later, Richard pulled into the club’s parking lot in a rented car. Deidre ran toward him, her face filled with worry.
“Dad, wait!” she called out, breathless. “I’m not going to let you face them alone.”
Richard’s eyes softened. He didn’t want her involved in this, but he knew she wouldn’t back down.
Together, they walked inside, where the thugs immediately rounded them up and ushered them to the table. Richard placed the duffel bag filled with $80,000 on the table. He swallowed hard.
“Here’s the $80,000 Deidre owed you,” Richard said. “And another $15,000 to cover the cost of the car. It, uh, sank in the river.”
Mr. Marco’s face twisted with rage. “You think this is enough? You come in here with $15,000 and think that covers the $100,000 shipment you lost? You’re insulting me.”
He grabbed the duffel bag and tossed it to one of his men. “Deidre,” he said, his voice cold. “I really believed in you. But sometimes, in business, you’ve got to know when to cut your losses.”
He pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at Deidre’s forehead.
“No, please!” Richard cried, stepping forward. “It’s all my fault! Don’t hurt her!”
Just as the tension reached its peak, police sirens screamed outside. The doors to the club flew open, and a barrage of gunfire shook the building. Chaos erupted, and Richard grabbed Deidre, pulling her to the floor as they hid beneath a table.
The police stormed in, and moments later, the officers escorted them to safety. Mr. Marco was arrested.
In the ambulance, Richard tried to calm his nerves. A paramedic asked, “Are you sure you don’t have any heart-related issues?”
Richard shook his head, trying to catch his breath. Just then, a detective approached, his expression stern. “What were you and your daughter doing in that club today?”
Richard took a deep breath and explained everything about the loan and how they had come to pay it back. He hoped the detective wouldn’t ask about the car in the river.
The detective glanced at Deidre. “If we hadn’t found a car full of contraband in the river, we wouldn’t have been here to rescue you. You should really be more careful about where you take loans from, miss.”
“A car in the river?” Richard asked, his heart racing.
“It was registered to Mr. Marco’s cousin,” the officer replied. “It was the key to taking down this gang.”
Richard sighed with relief. He was in the clear.
After giving their statements, the police let Richard and Deidre go. As they walked out of the station, Deidre looked up at him with tears in her eyes.
“I owe you a huge apology, Dad,” she said, voice breaking. “I didn’t know how to tell you… I didn’t want to be a failure in your eyes.”
Richard smiled gently, placing his hands on her shoulders. “You’re not a failure, Deidre. You’ve tried. I just wish you would’ve felt like you could come to me sooner, that we could’ve been closer, like when your mother was still around.”
Deidre broke down, and Richard held her close. “It’s okay, honey,” he whispered. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
