Pets n Story

Homeless and poor Brandon offers his last 2 dollars to an elderly man in need at a gas station—and the next day he inherits his company. Brandon believes this is the beginning of a new life for his family.

Brandon clutched his paper cup filled with loose change as he entered the gas station store. He was by the shelf when a loud voice distracted him. He saw a line of irritated customers gathered around an elderly man who couldn’t hear well.

“Excuse me, what did you say about the water?” the old man asked the cashier.

“Money!” she grumbled. “I said you don’t have enough money, sir!”

“Yeah, it’s sunny today,” the man replied, looking sullen.

“You need more money! For the water!” a young man standing behind him grabbed the man by the shoulder and shouted in his ear.

Brandon noticed everything. He wanted to intervene, but he didn’t want to attract the ire of the customers. Meanwhile, the elderly man explained that he didn’t have enough money and asked for a smaller bottle of water because he needed to take his pills.

“If you can’t pay, you’ll have to leave!” the cashier shouted.

“Am I allowed to leave?” the man asked with a smile as he headed for the exit—but the cashier snatched the bottle of water from him. “Just get out, old man!” she hissed. “You’re too much trouble!”

The old man tried to explain that he needed to take his pills, but his pleas went unanswered.

Brandon couldn’t stand it any longer. He approached the cashier and offered to pay for the water for the old man.

“Show some heart, ma’am,” he said, pouring his loose change onto the counter. The woman looked at him with disdain before counting the money.

“That’ll be enough,” she said, taking everything—including his last 2 dollars. “Now step aside. You’re holding up the line.”

Brandon left his can of beans on the counter and handed the water to the old man.

“Here you go, sir. I bought you water,” he said slowly and clearly so that the man could read his lips if necessary. The elderly man thanked him. They left the store together, and Brandon headed toward his tent in the lot near the gas station—but the man stopped him.

“Wait!”

Brandon turned around.

“Why did you help me when you clearly needed the money?” the old man asked.

“If I’ve learned anything from being homeless, sir, it’s that the world works when people are kind to one another,” Brandon replied.

“But what will your children eat? You left the beans on the counter.”

“We have yesterday’s bread crust,” Brandon answered. “We’ll manage.”

The old man left with a sullen look. Brandon noticed him getting into a shiny SUV, and he wondered why such a man couldn’t even afford a bottle of water.

The next day, while Brandon was divvying up cold french fries among his children near his tent, a silver sedan pulled up. A man in an elegant suit approached him.

“Good morning, sir. Mr. Graves’s last wish was for me to give this to you,” he said, handing over an envelope.

Brandon wiped his hands and took the envelope. Inside was a letter.

**”Dear Sir,
Yesterday you proved that you are a man with a kind heart by spending your last money on me. Your kindness and your belief in doing good for others inspired me to repay you with the most valuable gift I can give: my company.

My time in this world is coming to an end. Lately, I have grown concerned about leaving my company to my son, for I have realized that he is a selfish man with a hardened heart. It would be a great relief for my conscience if you inherited the company instead of him. All I ask is that you take care of my son and provide him with a safe and comfortable life.”**

“Is this a joke?” Brandon asked, looking at the man.

The man pulled out a stack of printed documents and a pen.

“Mr. Graves was absolutely serious. And once you sign these papers, everything will be official.”

“But I met this man only yesterday. And now he’s dead and left me everything?” Brandon wondered as he examined the documents.

“I understand your doubts, sir, but these papers were prepared by the finest lawyers. All we need is to fill in your name, and the lawyers will handle the rest.”

It was his chance to provide for his children, so Brandon signed the papers. Then the man drove him and his children to their new home.

When they arrived, Brandon stared in amazement at the huge mansion.

He could hardly believe it. But when he opened the massive double doors, he immediately sensed that something was off. The house was in disarray: a table lay on its side in the hallway, and a wardrobe was overturned.

Brandon dropped his luggage, ran to the car, and asked the driver to call the police. A few hours later, he was standing amid torn-up couches and broken furniture, talking with police officers.

“We inspected the entire house and found no signs of forced entry, sir,” an officer said. “This, combined with the fact that the security system was disabled using the proper code, indicates that the person who did this had lawful access.”

“So, a key? Meaning, the person just walked in?”

“I would advise you to change the locks, sir,” the officer nodded.

After the police left, Brandon suspected Mr. Graves’s son.

The next day, Mr. Graves’s secretary arrived early in the morning. She took Brandon shopping, then got him fixed up at the barber, before taking him to the company.

In the office that formerly belonged to Mr. Graves, Brandon was about to review files on the computer when the door swung open.

“You must be Brandon!” a middle-aged man in a dark suit entered the office. “I’m Christopher, one of Mr. Graves’s former business partners, and I’m here to save you from a heap of trouble.”

“Excuse me?” Brandon asked.

Christopher explained that he had been involved in sales in one of Mr. Graves’s “special” businesses. Brandon quickly realized that this was something illegal. He refused to continue, but Christopher was not about to back down.

“Listen, you fool! Graves owed me 2 million dollars for managing the shady side of the business! Now you’re responsible for that,” he growled. “And if you don’t pay, I’ll go to the police and tell them everything. Moreover, as the owner of the company, you’ll be liable for all the losses. So I expect my 2 million by Saturday.”

“What? This is extortion! You can’t be serious!” Brandon retorted.

“Yes, I can. And so that you don’t doubt it…” Christopher pulled his jacket aside and placed his hand on the gun in its holster. “… rest assured, if you get in my way, I’ll make you disappear.”

Brandon fell silent and agreed to his demands, though he suspected Christopher was deceiving him. He decided to search for any clues about this shady side of the business.

By evening, after reviewing data from all the company’s departments, Brandon was convinced that Christopher was lying. But then he noticed a cabinet with folders hidden in the corner of the office. Using keys he had found earlier on his desk, Brandon opened it. The first thing he saw was an old-fashioned document box hidden in a drawer.

Inside was a journal with entries written in some kind of cipher, and Brandon realized that Christopher was not lying. In his despair, he opened the box in search of a bottle of whiskey, but he found only a photograph.

In the photo was Mr. Graves together with… a young man. Brandon’s eyes widened in horror as he realized how similar they looked. The young man in the photo was Christopher, Mr. Graves’s son!

Brandon began to understand everything. He couldn’t believe that such a kind man as Mr. Graves could be involved in illegal activities. Most likely, Christopher had used his own dark dealings to blackmail him, Brandon concluded.

Fortune and a terrible twist of events, which threatened to take everything away, were happening too fast. Fortunately, Brandon was no stranger to the storms of the business world.

That Saturday, Brandon met with Christopher in an underground parking lot, but with a counteroffer.

“I must fulfill the promise to your father,” said Brandon, “so I am willing to offer you 49 percent of the company and keep the remaining 51 percent for myself. That should be enough for you to live luxuriously, right? And I will reserve the right to manage the company as your father intended.”

But Christopher refused.

“I’m not a fool! I deserve everything, not just crumbs! We’ll talk when you come to your senses!” he hissed and left.

Brandon returned to the office. He decided to pay Christopher 2 million dollars to put an end to this, but he discovered that the company’s funds had been tied up in assets or allocated to monthly expenses. Brandon found himself in a hopeless situation.

He returned home, dejected, and faced a new problem. When he opened the front door, he found his children’s nanny tied to a chair with a gag in her mouth.

“She took the children! She said to give you this as your wake-up call!” she shrieked as Brandon freed her. And he understood who she was talking about.

Brandon called Christopher and agreed to give him the company, pleading that no harm be done to the children. They arranged to meet at noon. But Brandon also contacted the police, and within half an hour he was sitting with an FBI agent.

“Just follow my instructions, and we will get your children back…” Agent Bates assured him.

At noon, Christopher was relaxing by the pool at a hotel he had rented. He locked Brandon’s children in a closet and sent all the hotel staff home except for the manager, whom he had generously bribed.

“Excuse me, sir,” the manager interjected. “I have a package for you.”

Christopher checked the envelope and smirked. He went to his room and signed the papers he found inside. The company was finally his! Then he released Brandon’s children.

“I’m sure you bums can find your own way. Now scram!” he said.

Christopher was finishing his preparations when he suddenly heard a quiet click behind him. Although the sound was barely audible, he immediately realized it was the click of a gun’s safety.

“FBI! Hands up! You’re under arrest.”

Meanwhile, Brandon was tightly hugging his children on the sidewalk. Thanks to Agent Bates’s idea to hide a tracker in the documents, Christopher was arrested.

Brandon took his children home, preparing to set things right. And when the FBI’s finance department arrived with a warrant, he handed over all the evidence—copies of the company records and the journal he had found in the office—knowing that when the investigation was over, he wouldn’t have a penny left. But he would be free.

“Dad, are we leaving our home… only when mom is dead?” asked Kelly.

Brandon got down on his knees and hugged his children.

“Listen, all four of you, we’re going to be alright. Want to know why?”

The children looked at him seriously and nodded.

“Because the most valuable thing we have is right here, in my hands. As long as we stick together, we will always be rich in what matters most: love.”