Old Man Saves Boy from Bullies, Next Day Sees Boy’s Parents on His Porch – Story of the Day

Old Henry saves a little boy from bullies who try to push him into the sewer. The next day, a luxe car arrives outside Henry's house, and the same boy steps out and approaches Henry with his parents.

It was a typical morning for Henry, who lived a life of solitude for decades.

He stuffed the trash bags in the garbage can outside his small house and was about to go inside when he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What the hell? What do those boys think they're doing?" Henry muttered angrily on seeing two teenagers bullying a little boy across the street...

"Doesn't that sewer smell just like your room, loser?" one of the bullies chuckled, bringing the little one to tears.

"Please, let me go...please!" the boy, seemingly no older than 10, pleaded with the teens. But the boys wouldn't stop.

They removed the sewer grate and tried pushing the little boy into the underground drain, knowing little that an angry Henry was watching everything from across the road.

"You brats...leave that kid alone!" Henry ran over to the bullies. The frightened kid quickly hid behind him, and the other two boys were startled.

"You want me to call the police, you idiots?"

Terrified, the bullies ran away. But the boy was still shaking in fear.

"It's alright, kid!" Henry leaned and patted the boy on the shoulder. "What were you doing all alone here?"

"I...I'm lost. And I don't know my way back."

"Lost?" Henry grew worried. "Okay, kid, listen to me. Don't worry, alright? I'll help you. I'm Henry. What's your name?"

"Adam."

"Now, do you have any ID, Adam? So that I can call your parents...and get you home?"

"I do...here," Adam gave Henry his school ID. "I want to go back to my friends..."

"Don't worry, kiddo. This should help. How about you come with me and have something to drink? I live right there...see that house? We can wait there until the police are here to help."

The boy nodded.

They sat in the living room, and Adam told Henry he had gotten lost while on a school trip to this part of the city.

"Oh, dear! You're about 40 miles away from home," Henry said.

About half an hour later, the cops arrived, and Henry told them everything. Following a search using Adam's ID, the cops found his home address.

"Take care, boy!" Henry waved a hearty goodbye as Adam was taken away in the police cruiser hours later. He was so relieved the kid finally found his way home and never expected to see Adam again. Certainly not the very next day.

The following morning, Henry made himself a cup of black coffee and stepped out onto the front porch to grab his newspaper. Suddenly, a luxe car pulled over outside, distracting him.

The driver stepped out and opened the car door as Henry watched, perplexed.

A couple exited from the back seat. And with them was..."Adam?" Henry exclaimed as the little boy bolted to him.

"What are you doing here, boy?" Henry asked as Adam's parents approached him.

"Hi, we're Adam's parents," the man smiled. "Sorry for dropping in unannounced. We just couldn't help paying you a visit...thanks for saving our son."

"Oh, that! It's alright," Henry said, shaking hands with John, Adam's dad. "I did what I had to do."

John's smile slowly faded as he looked at Henry closely.

"I'm sorry...but have we met before? I don't know why...you look so familiar. What did you say your name was?"

"Henry. And you are?"

"Henry...you remind me a lot of my father, who left my family when I was six. His name was Henry, too!"

"JOHN?" Henry's voice trembled. "Are you...John?"

A gust of silence hung in the air. John and Henry couldn't believe it.

"God...I'm terribly sorry for leaving you, son," Henry cried as John, unable to contain his emotions, threw himself into his father's arms.

"Dad...Oh my God! Where were you all these years? Why did you leave me?"

Henry sighed. "I never wanted to leave you, son. But circumstances made me do it. It's not a pretty story. It's about a man who went from riches to rags, lost his family and fortune...

...and almost killed his wife. There's a lot you need to know."

John asked his driver to take his wife Amelia and Adam to the car and followed Henry inside to unravel the truth.

"It happened when you were six years old, John. We were on our way to the amusement park..." Henry plunged into his past.

34 years ago...

"Daddy, I want cotton candy. Will you get me some?" 6-year-old John asked as Henry drove the car to the amusement park several miles away from their home.

"Sure, champ!" Henry smiled. "Let's have fun today. But before that, let's stop by my office for five minutes, alright? Dad's got something urgent to deal with."

Henry was an affluent businessman back then. He was so occupied with work all the time that he barely spent time with his family. However, that day, Henry decided to take his son to the park and make him happy.

Ten minutes later, Henry finished the task in his office and remembered about the gift he wanted to surprise John with at the park.

"God, no!" Henry sighed disappointedly as he realized he had forgotten it at home.

Since they were only 20 miles away from home, he decided to head back and get the gift quickly. So Henry drove home with John.

"Wait right here, buddy. Daddy will be back in a minute," Henry told John.

The door was ajar, and he stepped inside, only to notice an unfamiliar pair of shoes near the shoe rack.

"We've got a guest over?" Henry pondered, but there was nobody in the living room.

The house was oddly quiet, and then, Henry heard moaning sounds coming from his and Laura's bedroom upstairs.

Henry tiptoed upstairs and burst open the bedroom door, only to freeze in shock.

"What the hell? STEVE?" Henry's eyes bulged in horror at seeing his wife sleeping with a young lawyer employed in his firm.

"Oh my God, Henry, what are you doing here?" Laura quickly covered herself with a bedsheet, and Steve jumped out of bed to get dressed.

"What the bloody hell, Laura? You cheating on me with my employee?"

Laura composed herself and stared Henry in the eye. "I don't love you anymore, Henry. Do you hear me? I want a divorce. I should've told you everything sooner. But I'm glad you found out."

"I...I should probably leave," Steve tried to leave, but Laura stopped him.

"You're not going anywhere, Steve," she said. "So what if we were together in bed here, Henry? You're always busy with work. You are only focused on yourself...you barely spend time with me. When was the last time we made love? Months ago? Is that the kind of attention you give your wife? Look, I love Steve, and I've moved on."

As Laura went on and on about her feelings for Steve, Henry could take it no more and charged at Steve, shoving him to the floor.

"Henry, stop. What the hell are you doing?"

Fuming in rage, Henry smacked Steve in the face. "I see you with my wife again, you're dead meat. You hear that?"

Henry stormed out of the house and drove away with John, who was terrified at seeing his dad's bruised knuckles.

The next day, Henry was in his office when Steve entered. "OUT before I beat the crap out of you again," Henry yelled, clenching his fists.

"Woah, woah, relax, Mr. Holland. Oh, wait...why these silly honorifics?! Relax HENRY! I'm here to show you something. If I were you, I'd look at it," Steve said, passing a flash drive.

Henry inserted the drive into his computer and gritted his teeth as he watched the clip of him assaulting Steve the previous day.

"If this video goes to the cops, then you'll get at least three years in prison. I loathe you enough to make sure you serve! So let's get to the deal...shall we?"

"You divorce Laura and pay me $150,000...and this clip will never make it to the cops."

"GET THE HELL OUT! You're fired, Steve," Henry barked, but Steve laughed.

"You're firing me? Oh, don't be mistaken, Henry. Your wife transferred half of your company to me six months ago. I'm now your business partner. So technically, you can't fire me!"

Henry was shocked. Laura had transferred half the company to Steve. And during the divorce proceedings, Henry would have to give her half of his share in the company. And not just that. He would have to transfer half of his property to her, thus going bankrupt.

Steve and Laura teamed up to wreck him, but Henry knew he couldn't let that happen.

That evening, Henry called an old acquaintance. "Yes...can we meet at the bar on 6th Street? Great...I'll see you there."

Twenty minutes later, Henry arrived at the bar and waited. A man approached and greeted him.

"How you doin', man?" Ronnie patted Henry on the shoulder. "So, what's the matter?"

"I want you to contact one of your guys...who can do the job for me."

"Sure!"

"Cool. My wife and her partner," Henry said as he tossed two photos of Laura and Steve on the table.

"I want to hire a professional to finish them."

"I know you're probably shocked. My wife has an affair with this guy. So I don't care how you do this...or what you do. I want them dead."

"Don't worry, man. I got you," Ronnie said and rang someone.

"My man will be here in 30 minutes."

Half an hour later, Ronnie's guy joined them. Ronnie briefed him about the plan, explaining that Steve's and Laura's deaths must look like an accident.

"Well, we could make it seem like their car veered off the bridge and plunged into the lake," the hitman suggested.

"Sounds like a plan!" Henry said. "I'll call them to the south bridge. And you do the rest. Let's talk about the money...how much should I pay you?"

"$50,000 for me," the contract killer said. "And another 50 grand for my guys...and the stuff I'd need for this."

"You lure them to the south bridge this Thursday morning...and the rest is up to me."

Henry nodded and left the bar. The next day, he called Steve and Laura, faking an apology, and convinced them to meet him at Steve's office.

"...And I'm sorry about that. I'm ready to end things on a...good note."

Laura and Steve agreed to meet him, and Henry dropped a text to the contract killer.

"They are ready. This Thursday...as we decided, alright?"

"Deal!"

Finally, the day Henry had long awaited arrived. He anxiously waited in his office, staring at his phone. Suddenly, his phone buzzed with the contract killer's number.

"Mission accomplished! Meet me at the Bronze Arch Grounds," the guy told Henry. "...at the bench under the oak tree...with the cash. I'll be there in 20 minutes."

Henry drove to the spot with the money and spotted the only oak tree there. He sat on the bench and waited for the contract killer.

About 30 minutes later, the guy approached Henry and sat on the bench.

"Their car plunged into the lake," he said, showing Henry a photo of a car upside down under the bridge, sinking into the lake.

"It'll look like an accident. Nobody could've survived that!"

"Good job!" Henry said as he handed over the money to the killer. But right then, a squad of police officers surrounded them and handcuffed Henry.

"You're under arrest, Mr. Holland...on the grounds of conspiring and attempting to murder your colleague, Mr. Reynolds, and your wife, Mrs. Holland."

Present day...

"The contract killer was framed, son," Henry told John. "I was so into my revenge that I missed noticing how he and I were fooled."

"Turns out that Ronnie guy informed Laura about my plan. Together with the police, they staged her and Steve's death to catch me paying money for murder. But you know what? I'm glad my plan was foiled...because I wouldn't have been able to live with guilt if they were actually killed."

"Maybe if I had tried to solve things differently, I would've never left you. I'll regret it for the rest of my life. That's my penance."

"No, Dad," John hugged Henry. "Yes, you were wrong. But you've suffered enough. The past isn't going to change. But maybe our future will. I'll help you get everything back...and Steve will regret it."

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