An elderly man visits his daughter on his 80th birthday, but she doesn’t let him into her house – Story of the Day.

Richard visits his daughter to celebrate his eightieth birthday with her, but she opens the door in tears and sends him away. Richard suspects trouble and realizes he’s right after looking through the window.

Richard nervously tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he drove. Deidre used to come to him every Thanksgiving, but after his wife’s funeral four years ago, that stopped. Now, he only called once a week.

Richard spread his arms wide when Deidre appeared at the door. “Surprise!” he called out.

“Dad? What are you doing here?” she asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I came to celebrate my birthday with you… it’s the big eight-oh!” Richard replied, but the joy in his voice quickly faded. “What’s wrong, sweetheart? Why are you crying?”

“It’s nothing, everything’s fine,” Deidre quickly wiped away her tears and forced a small smile. “I just wasn’t expecting you, and this isn’t a good time. Sorry, Dad, but I need to focus. On my work. Listen, I’ll call you. We’ll have dinner later, okay? I’m sorry.”

Deidre closed the door, leaving Richard hurt and confused. Something was definitely wrong. Was Deidre in trouble?

Richard stepped back from the door but didn’t leave. He stepped over the short, blooming bushes lining the path and sneaked around to peer through the windows.

Two rough-looking men were sitting with Deidre in the living room.

“Who was that?” one of them asked in a gruff voice.

“No one,” Deidre lied with a shaky voice. “Just a neighborhood kid playing a doorbell prank and ran off.”

“Now, back to business,” said the second man. “You’re six months behind on your loan repayment, Deidre. Mr. Marco is getting impatient.”

“I just need more time. Business will surely pick up again in winter,” she pleaded.

“Time is something you don’t have, sweetie,” the man replied, pulling out his gun. “People who owe Mr. Marco money don’t live long and end up as fish food in the harbor…” He pointed the gun at her.

Richard froze in fear. But soon, the man stepped back with a disgusted look and tucked the gun into his waistband.

“Look around this dump and see if there’s anything valuable we can take to Mr. Marco, Danny,” he ordered. “She’s a businesswoman, so there must be a computer or some equipment here.”

”But I need those things!” she cried. “Without my equipment, I can’t earn any money!”

The man tapped the butt of his gun. ”Boo-hoo. I can still change my mind, you know. Don’t be so ungrateful.”

The men rummaged through her apartment before storming out, leaving Deidre sobbing on the floor.

None of this made sense to Richard, as Deidre’s business was doing well—or at least that’s what she had told him. But now, Richard sensed something was seriously wrong. Deidre needed his help.

The men loaded several pieces of equipment from Deidre’s house into their vehicle.

As they finally drove away, Richard followed them.

The men stopped in front of a two-story brick building downtown that looked like a bar. It was closed, but the door was unlocked. None of the employees stopped Richard as he entered the building.

The men had seated themselves at a large table with several other rough-looking men. One of them stood up and stomped toward him.

“The club is closed,” he growled. “Come back later.”

“I’m here to talk about Deidre’s debt,” Richard announced.

“Oh?” The man at the head of the table stood up and stared at Richard. He looked like a gentleman, except for a nasty scar over his left eye. Richard guessed that he was Mr. Marco.

“How much does she owe you?” Richard asked.

Mr. Marco grinned. “A 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.”

“I have about $20,000 in my savings account,” Richard swallowed nervously, shocked that Deidre had borrowed such a large sum.

“That’s only a quarter of what she owes us.” Mr. Marco sighed. “But there is something you can do to make up the difference.”

Richard didn’t like this, but he had to do whatever it took to save his daughter from the mess she had gotten herself into.

“What do I have to do?” he asked.

Mr. Marco grinned at Richard and motioned him closer to the table.

“My partner and I recently started a small business importing cars to Canada, but the paperwork got delayed, so we’re having trouble getting the ‘goods’ across the border. A friendly, innocent-looking grandpa like you shouldn’t have any trouble crossing the border in one of our cars.”

Richard had no choice but to agree. Later that night, he stopped at a gas station near the border town to use the restroom and parked next to a patrol car.

“My God!” he gasped when the German Shepherd in the back seat of the police vehicle started barking at him and pawing at the window.

Police dogs were trained not to bark at strangers unless… Oh, man.

Quickly, he got back into his car, a Valiant, and reversed as the police dog went berserk.

Two officers rushed out of the gas station store and called out to him to stop as they saw him. The GPS app gave directions, but Richard stuffed it in his pocket to silence the darn thing.

He pushed the Valiant to its limits, weaving through traffic, leaving a trail of outraged drivers behind and narrowly avoiding collisions. Sirens wailed behind him.

Soon, Richard spotted a narrow, unmarked dirt road leading into the forest ahead. He made a sharp turn, leaving the road behind and speeding into the forest. The muddy tracks were terrible to navigate, but Richard pressed on.

He turned onto a narrow path leading downhill. Then he made a slight uphill turn and immediately regretted it.

The car was now in a precarious position, balancing on a narrow ledge above a wide river. Richard tried to shift into reverse, but the tires spun, failing to gain traction.

The car even started sliding closer to the water.

“No!” Richard desperately pulled the handbrake, but it didn’t work.

The car’s nose plunged into the river with a loud splash, and a wave of dark water surged over the hood. Richard pushed open the car door and desperately tried to escape the sinking vehicle.

The water pressure began pushing the car door against Richard’s legs. Richard panicked as the river filled the interior.

As the water reached his face, he threw his head back, took a final breath, and pulled himself underwater.

Richard squeezed out of the opening and pushed himself to the surface. He took a deep breath and swam toward the shore.

When he reached the shore, Richard realized how close he had come to death. Thankfully, he was still breathing. But he still had to do something about the $80,000. So Richard hitchhiked home.

“I need to take out a mortgage on my house,” he told the bank officer. “And I need the money quickly in my bank account.”

Richard waited impatiently as the bank officer processed the paperwork. He jumped in shock when Deidre called him.

“A few thugs from a local gang were just here asking about you, Dad… what’s going on?”

“Tell them I’ll be there soon. I’ve arranged to pay off your debt. I don’t understand why you didn’t come to me first, Deidre, but this isn’t the right time to discuss it.”

Richard ended the call and signed the paperwork. He didn’t want to give up the house where he had made memories with his family, but it was the only way to help Deidre.

A few hours later, he drove a rental car into the club’s parking lot and headed for the entrance.

”Dad, wait!” Richard turned as Deidre ran toward him.

“I’m not letting you face these thugs alone,” she said. “I still don’t understand how you found out about this mess and where you got the money to pay them back, but the least I can do is stand by you while you rescue me.”

Richard studied the determined look in Deidre’s eyes and knew he couldn’t convince her to leave. As they entered the club, the thugs herded him and Deidre toward a table.

Richard placed his duffel bag, containing the cash he had withdrawn after finalizing the mortgage, on the table.

“Here’s the $80,000 Deidre owed you, plus another $15,000 for your car. I got into some trouble, and the car ended up in a river.”

Mr. Marco’s face twisted in anger, and he slammed his fist on the table.

“You have the nerve to offer me a measly $15,000? After you walked in here and told me that you sunk the shipment of $100,000 hidden in that car? That doesn’t even come close to covering what you owe me now.”

The gangster snatched the duffel bag and tossed it to one of his thugs.

“You know, Deidre, I really believed in you, but sometimes you need to know when to cut your losses in business.”

He pulled a gun from his suit jacket and pointed it directly at Deidre’s forehead.

Richard pulled Deidre behind him. “No, please! This is all my fault! Don’t punish her!”

“You’re right about that.” The gangster shrugged, and in the next moment, Richard found himself staring down the barrel of the gun.

But suddenly, they heard police sirens outside the club.

“Freeze! Police!” Officers flooded the club, guns drawn.

“Dad!” Deidre screamed as the gun fired.

Richard fell backward, and Deidre caught him.

Richard looked up at her through the pain and smiled. “You’re safe now, Deidre…”

Richard’s vision blurred as Deidre sobbed over him.

Richard had saved his daughter and could now join his wife in peace.

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