A woman, Catherine, was at the supermarket’s parking lot during a peacefully evening and decided to give her husband a call and grab some coffee with him. Knowing he often stopped by the supermarket on his way home, she hoped he would be able to do the same thing this time.
However, when she tried to call him, the call went straight to voice mail and she soon received a text message from him telling her he was still at work.
She then parked her car, grabbed the shopping bag from the backseat, and exited the vehicle. But as she navigated through the parked cars, an SUV caught her attention. Was that her husband’s? According to the rear bump it was. But where was he, she wondered. At that moment, the thought of him staying late at work during the past period, the secret phone calls, and his rather odd behavior started flooding her mind.
Catherine decided to return to her car and wait for her husband to appear so that she could confront him. Shortly after, an old cheap car parked next to her husband’s SUV. To her surprise, in the old car was her husband Dylan. He was dressed in old ragged clothes. She was in complete shock and couldn’t understand what was going on.
Dylan then got out of the old car, changed the old clothes into his work suit, and entered the SUV.
Catherine rushed home and waited for him there. She decided not to say anything to him.
“So, how was your day?” she asked, noticing he seemed lost and wasn’t interested in the food.
“Oh, it was usual…meetings, paperwork, the regular stuff,” he answered as if he had practiced the reply before.
“I thought you’d have popped out for a bit?” she said.
“Nah, today was packed,” he replied, and Catherine’s heart sank. Was he lying because he was cheating on her? She wanted to confront him really badly, but she couldn’t do it, not without proof.
The following morning, she got up early and decided to wait for him parked at the supermarket’s parking lot.
Seeing her getting out of the house, Dylan said, “Where are you headed so early?” He was dressed in his usual work attire, all dressed up.
“Oh, I’ve booked an early morning massage session, remember? The back pain’s been killing me,” she lied.
“Going without breakfast?”
“Yeah, I’ll grab something on the way and see you in a while. Sleep in,” she said as she left the house.
Some time later, she noticed her husband arriving at the parking lot in his SUV and then switching to the sedan.
He put on the old clothes and started driving, and Catherine drove after him.
At one moment, as he took a look from the rear-view mirror, their eyes almost met, but a passing bus broke the line of sight.
Catherine’s heart was skipping beats and her hands started sweating. She had no idea what was going on and didn’t know what to expect.
As their vehicles left he city’s outskirts and took a less-traveled route filled with cracks and potholes, Catherine found herself in a forested area.
Dylan turned into the dirt road leading into the woods and Catherine decided to continue this strange journey on foot, hoping to get sight of her husband or his sedan deep into the woods.
After walking through the dense forest, she finally found herself at the clear. There, she spotted a wooden house and Dylan’s sedan parked next to it.
Catherine hid behind the bushes, about 30 meters from the house, and saw the house’s porch where Dylan was…talking to a poor man in ragged clothing.
As she spotted them laughing, she approached them and yelled, “What’s going on here?”
“Catherine? Wha-what are you doing here?” Dylan asked, shocked.
“Who is this beauty?” the other man, Harry, asked, looking at her.
“I’m his wife!” yelled Catherine. “Explain everything, Dylan! Why did you lie about the office meeting? And what’s with you switching your SUV in the supermarket’s parking lot and coming here in that rundown vehicle? And WHO IS THIS MAN??
Dylan’s blood froze.
“Wife? You never mentioned her! You said you were a poor man who worked at the gas station!” Harry stared at Dylan. “You were lying all along?”
“Harry, please. I-I can explain!” Dylan replied nervously.
Harry got raged, grabbed a bottle from the nearby table and smashed it against Dylan’s head. Dylan then lost consciousness.
Moments later, when he opened his eyes, he realized he was dragged to the basement and tied to a chair, and so was his wife.
“Start talking, Dylan! What the heck is happening?” Catherine said with fear and confussion.
“I should’ve told you everything, but I wanted to protect you from my past,” he said. “I-I had a son, Catherine, and it all started when I went to a doctor with him…”
19 years ago… Dylan exited the doctor’s office together with his baby son. The little one was diagnosed with a rare condition and needed urgent surgery, which would cost about $100,000.
He called his then-girlfriend to tell her the devastating news and told her to wait for him and their baby home. But once there, he noticed a note on the table from her which read, “Don’t look for me. I didn’t want this child, Dylan! Bye!”
Desperate, Dylan called his friend Harry and the two, along with Harry’s crew, plotted a plan to rob a bank. While Harry and his friends were robbing the bank, Harry was waiting in the car for them ready to drive off.
On D-Day, the crew went on with their plan. Dylan waited, and some time later, Harry flung the car door open and jumped in.
“DRIVE NOW!” he shouted.
“Where’s the rest of the crew?” Dylan asked.
“They’re gone! Drive!” Harry ordered.
Dylan did as he was instructed. But not long after, he noticed the police lights in the rearview mirror. As the police was getting closer and closer, they started firing and Harry was hit in the shoulder. The car of their car was also pierced.
“Keep driving!” Harry said at that moment, groaning in pain. But as they noticed it was extremely difficult to control the car, Harry changed plans.
“We’re not going to make it, Dylan! Listen to me…” Harry said. “There’s a narrow alley up ahead, about 300 meters. Drive into it, and you’ll find a sewer hatch. Ditch the car, get into the sewers, and follow the markings. Don’t worry about me. Take all the money with you. But keep my share. I expect to be paid when I get out of jail.”
Harry got arrested, but the police didn’t find the money.
Dylan could now proceed with his son’s operation, but sadly, it ended up costing double the money, so he, although he knew he would find himself in trouble, spent Harry’s share too.
“I spent Harry’s share and got the surgery done, but my son didn’t make it. His passing left me broken, but when I met you, Catherine, things changed. I felt like I could start a new life. I thought Harry would never find me, especially not 20 years later. So I never told you the truth.”
“How did he find you?” Catherine demanded, still shocked by his revelations.
“I got a call from him. He said he was out of prison. I have no idea how he tracked my number. I pretended to be a poor man because I didn’t want to return his share. Whatever I’ve earned is through my hard work. So I came up with a plan to deceive him.”
“$100,000 is a drop in the ocean for you, Dylan! You could’ve just given it to him. How could you play with our lives like this? I hate you!” Catherine sneered.
Right then, the basement door flung open. Harry appeared with a smirk. “I just had a little visit to your cozy home,” he snarled. “Quite the palace you’ve got there, though not many valuables. Makes me wonder where all the money went.”
At that moment, Dylan asked Harry to let Catherine go and he would give him a million dollars from his bank account.
Harry agreed. “But if you even think of playing any tricks or getting the police involved, I won’t hesitate to spill all about your dark past,” Harry warned Dylan. “Remember, I’ve got nothing to lose, and I’ve plenty of allies in jail. You mess with me, and you pay the price.”
When the two entered the bank, Dylan realized that Harry wasn’t someone he could trust. He feared for Catherine’s life and decided to do something about that.
As they approached the clerk, Dylan shouted, “This is a robbery!”
Everyone panicked and Harry got confused. He threatened to expose Dylan’s past to the police. “I will tell them everything myself,” Dylan said, “but I’m glad Catherine will be alive!”
