When Richard goes to see his daughter to celebrate turning eightieth, she answers the door sobbingly and waves him off. Richard looks through her front windows and sees that he is right to suspect problems.<\/p>\n
As he drove, Richard nervously drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. Ever since his wife\u2019s funeral four years ago, Deidre has not driven down for Thanksgiving. There were only calls once a week now.<\/p>\n
Deidre appeared in the doorway, and Richard opened his arms wide. He exclaimed, \u201cSurprise!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy? Why are you in this place?\u201d With tears streaming down her cheeks, she enquired.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came to celebrate my birthday with you\u2026 it\u2019s the big eight-o!\u201d Richard replied, but the joy in his voice trailed off quickly. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, honey? Why are you crying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing; everything\u2019s fine,\u201d Deidre quickly wiped her tears and smiled a little. \u201cI just\u2026I wasn\u2019t expecting you, and this isn\u2019t really a good time. Sorry, Dad, but I, uh, need to focus. On my work, Look, I\u2019ll call you. We\u2019ll have dinner later, okay? Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard was left bewildered and heartbroken when Deidre closed the door. There was a serious problem. Did Deidre have a problem?<\/p>\n
Richard moved away from the front entrance, but he stayed inside. He skirted the low blooming shrubs bordering the walkway and crept up to take a quick look through the windows.<\/p>\n
Deidre was in the sitting room with two burly males.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was that?\u201d In an abrupt tone, one of them inquired.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody,\u201d Deidre said, trembling. \u201cJust a neighbor\u2019s kid\u2026 pulling a doorbell prank and running away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBack to business then,\u201d the second man said. \u201cYou\u2019re now six months behind on your loan repayments, Deidre. Mr. Marco\u2019s getting impatient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just need more time. Business is sure to pick up again in the winter,\u201d she pleaded.<\/p>\n
The man said, \u201cTime is one thing you haven\u2019t got, sweetie,\u201d and drew his gun. \u201cPeople who owe Mr. Marco money don\u2019t have a great life expectancy and end up feeding the fishes in the lake\u2026\u201d He was aiming the weapon at her.<\/p>\n
Fear immobilized Richard. However, the man quickly turned aside, hiding the gun in the waistline of his pants, and walked back with a disgusted expression.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook around this dump and see if there\u2019s anything valuable we can take to Mr. Marco, Danny,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s a businesswoman, so there must be a computer or some kind of equipment around here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She exclaimed, \u201cBut I need those things!\u201d \u201cI can\u2019t make money without my equipment!\u201d<\/p>\n
The man gave his rifle a pat on the butt. \u201cBoo-Hoo.\u201d You know, I may yet change my mind. Now stop being unappreciative.<\/p>\n
Deidre was left sobbing on the floor as the men stormed away after ransacking her house.<\/p>\n
Richard couldn\u2019t understand anything because Deidre\u2019s business was booming. That\u2019s what she had told him, at any rate. However, Richard now sensed that something was wrong. Deidre was in need of him.<\/p>\n
From Deidre\u2019s house, the men placed a number of appliances in their car.<\/p>\n
At last, they took off, and Richard went with them.<\/p>\n
The men came to a stop at what appeared to be a pub, a two-story brick building downtown. The door was unlocked even though it was closed. Richard entered the facility unhindered by any staff members.<\/p>\n
The men had moved to a big table with a number of other burly men seated around it. One of them got up and strode in his direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe club\u2019s closed,\u201d he growled. \u201cCome back later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard said, \u201cI\u2019m here to discuss Deidre\u2019s debt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh?\u201d The man at the head of the table stood up and gave Richard a long look. With the exception of a large scar above his left eye, he appeared to be a gentleman. Mr. Marco, Richard surmised.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much does she owe you?\u201d Richard asked.<\/p>\n
Mr. Marco smirked. \u201cA good samaritan, huh? Deidre took out a business loan of $80,000 from me. She was supposed to pay me back from her monthly profits, but she never made any.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have about $20,000 in savings.\u201d Richard gasped in terror, surprised that Deidre had taken out such a large loan.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not even close to what she owes us. Mr. Marco let out a sigh. \u201cBut there\u2019s something you can do to make up the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Richard didn\u2019t enjoy the sound of that, he knew he had to take all necessary action to keep his daughter out of the trouble she had gotten herself into.<\/p>\n
He enquired, \u201cWhat do you want me to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Marco waved Richard over to the table with a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy partner and I recently launched a small business importing cars into Canada, but we\u2019re having trouble getting the\u2019merchandise\u2019 across the border because some of the paperwork has been delayed. It should be easy for a gentle, naive Grandpa like you to cross the border in one of our vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard was forced to nod in agreement. Later that evening, he stopped beside a patrol to use the restroom at a gas station close to the border town.<\/p>\n
The German Shepherd in the back of the police cruiser started barking at him and pawing at the window, and he said.<\/p>\n
Service dogs aren\u2019t supposed to bark at strangers until\u2026 Oh, dude.<\/p>\n
The police dog went nuts as he hastily got back into the Valiant and began reversing.<\/p>\n
He was looked at by two police officers, who rushed out of the gas station store and ordered him to stop. Richard stuffed the GPS app in his pocket to stop the annoying voice instructions.<\/p>\n
He threaded through traffic, pushing the Valiant to its breaking point, leaving a trail of furious drivers who barely missed crashes in his wake. Behind him, sirens began to blare.<\/p>\n
Before long, Richard noticed a small, unmarked dirt road heading into the jungle. He made a sudden turn and bolted into the trees, leaving the road behind. Richard continued, despite how difficult it was to manage the muddy trails.<\/p>\n
He took a narrow road that went downhill. Subsequently, he noticed a tiny elevation and felt instant regret.<\/p>\n
Now the car was wedged into an awkward position, perched on a small elevation over a large river. When Richard attempted to go back the way he had come, the tires spun in an attempt to lose traction.<\/p>\n
The car was actually sliding toward the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d Richard applied the parking brake as hard as he could, but it was ineffective.<\/p>\n
With a loud splash, the car\u2019s nose struck the river, causing a wave of dark water to rush over the bonnet. In a desperate attempt to get out of the sinking car, Richard pushed open the door.<\/p>\n
Richard felt the automobile door close against his legs due to the water\u2019s pressure. With the interior filled with the river, Richard splashed around in panic.<\/p>\n
He tipped his head back, took a final breath, and hauled himself beneath as the water level slowly rose to his face.<\/p>\n
Richard forced his way through the gap and thrust himself upward toward the surface. Inhaling deeply, he started to swim in the direction of the riverbank.<\/p>\n
Richard became aware of how near death he truly was upon reaching shore. Thankfully, he was still breathing. Still, he had to take action with the $80,000. Richard decided to hitchhike home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to mortgage my house,\u201d he told the bank assistant. \u201cAnd I need the cash in my bank account fast.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the bank staffer processed the paperwork, Richard impatiently waited. He gave it a start as he heard Deidre\u2019s call.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few guys from a nearby gang stopped over to inquire about you, Dad.What\u2019s taking place?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell them I\u2019ll be there soon. I arranged to pay off your debt for you. I don\u2019t understand why you didn\u2019t come to me first, Deidre, but this isn\u2019t the time to discuss that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard hung up the phone and signed the documents. The only way to assist Deidre was to give up the house where he had made memories with his family, even if he didn\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n
A few hours later, he pulled his rental car into the club\u2019s parking lot and made his way to the entrance.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, hold on!\u201d Deidre hurried toward Richard, and he looked back.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t let you face those thugs alone,\u201d she said. \u201cI still don\u2019t understand how you found out about this mess or how you got the money to repay them, but the least I can do is stand by you while you save me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Richard goes to see his daughter to celebrate turning eightieth, she answers the door sobbingly and waves him off. Richard looks through her front windows and… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance"],"yoast_head":"\n