Boss Fires Lady Because She Looks ‘Too Old,’ Next Day Sends Limo for Her and Begs Her To Return — Story of the Day

Nathan fired an elderly woman from his restaurant for being 'too old' for the job. But while signing her release papers the next day, he noticed something in the documents that compelled the young boss to send her a limo and beg for her return.

His driver's voice alerted Nathan they were finally at the restaurant. But this visit was different. He had been in a bad mood since morning, and he didn't want anyone to make things any worse for him. He stepped out of the limo as the driver opened the door.

"Go-Good morning, sir," the guard wished him nervously as Nathan approached the restaurant's entrance.

But he didn't respond to the older man, and his brows furrowed. "What the hell is going on there?" Nathan grumbled as he marched into the restaurant to a table where a furious customer was yelling at a server...

The waitress lowered her gaze and anxiously rubbed her palms as the patron went on to ridicule her.

"...I don't think your apologies can make up for what you did! You ruined my expensive suit! Do you have any idea how much it costs, lady? I bet you it's worth more than what you make in a year!"

"I'm-I'm sorry, sir," Catherine stammered. "I didn't do it on purpose. It was an accident!"

"What's going on here? What's the matter, sir?" Nathan asked, running his gaze from Catherine to the angry customer. But after observing the coffee spill on the floor and the man continually wiping his suit sleeve with a napkin, he understood what had happened.

"Well, I think this place could do without reckless staff like her!" the man sneered. "She spilled coffee all over my outfit, and I'm going to look like this at a crucial meeting, all thanks to her!"

"It-It was just an accident, sir," Catherine further explained to Nathan. "I-I tripped while I was carrying the coffee tray. I'm so sorry."

"Couldn't you have been a bit more careful?" Nathan snarled as he glared at her. Then he turned toward the customer.

"I'm very sorry for the unpleasant experience, sir," Nathan replied. "I'm the owner here...and please let me make it up to you. Mr. Scottlif!" he called out to the manager. "Please ensure that the gentleman has a pleasant lunch. And it's on the house, sir. Again, I apologize for everything. And you," he said sternly to Catherine. "In my office! Now!"

Nathan stormed into his office, furious. He'd barely settled down when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he answered rather stiffly.

Catherine hung her head as she walked in.

"First things first: who the hell are you? And why haven't I seen you here before?" he questioned while his hands clasped the table.

"My name is Catherine, Sir," Catherine replied tremblingly. "I-I was hired only two weeks ago, so I haven't been around for very long."

"OK, well, it turns out having you around wasn't very nice. You're fired, Catherine!" Nathan announced blatantly. "Come tomorrow and collect your wages, and yeah, I'll sign your termination letter!"

"Please, sir," She looked up at him pleadingly. "I-I will be more careful in the future. It was just an accident! You can cut today's loss out of my salary, but don't fire me! How about I-I work a few extra shifts to pay for the customer's lunch?"

"No, that's out of the question!" Nathan leaned back in his chair, scanning her from head to toe and noticing her shaking hands and frail figure.

"How old are you, Catherine? 60? 65?" he sighed. "Look, I don't care who hired you, but we don't need old waiters around who can't watch their hands! I'm letting you go because you're too old to work. Besides, you've probably observed that everyone on my staff is young, and someone like you can turn off customers. Out of my office now!"

Nathan quickly turned his attention to the papers on his desk, so he didn't notice the tears in Catherine's eyes or how her face fell as she walked out of his office.

The next day, he asked Mr. Scottlif to bring her release papers. As the manager left, Nathan was about to sign the document in a hurry, but then his attention was drawn to her last name, and he paused.

"Wilkinson…" Catherine's last name jogged Nathan's memory. Catherine Wilkinson. His birth mother had the same name. She had abandoned him when he was still a baby and never returned for him. The woman who had raised Nathan had told him about his birth mother when he had turned 16. But she never told him why his mother did what she did.

Could it be possible that the older woman he had fired was his biological mother? The uneasy thought crossed his mind. Nathan put the pen down. It was also possible it was just a coincidence that this woman shared the same name as his birth mother.

Nathan picked up his phone and called his driver. "Hey, Charles. I'm sending you a name and address," he said, referring to Catherine's address in her file. "You'll need to go there on my behalf and apologize to her for a misunderstanding and request her to come back to the restaurant. Bring her back, please, even if you have to beg for it. This is really important. Yes, drive her to the restaurant."

Even if there was only a slight possibility that this woman was his birth mother, Nathan didn't want to let it go. As a teen, he never dared to investigate what compelled his birth mother to leave him, but as an adult, he thought and wished differently.

As he hung up, his mind raced with questions he would ask Catherine once she returned. He leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. Since he couldn't focus on work, he reached for all the files on his desk to close them and put them aside. It was then he noticed something. There was an envelope on his table.

Someone must've kept it before he arrived for work this morning because it wasn't there the previous day. Nathan hurriedly sat up in the chair and lifted the envelope.

"The truth.

— From Catherine," it read on the top.

"Catherine?" Nathan repeated her name in surprise. He quickly ripped off the envelope's flap and found a letter inside. He began reading.

"Dear Nathan," it began. "This is the same Catherine you fired yesterday. I wrote this letter right after I was let go. I didn't have the courage to say this before, but I think it's about time I told you the truth. I am your birth mother…"

Nathan covered his mouth in shock as he continued reading.

"When you were a baby, I left you with a woman. She was an old acquaintance, and I was sure she would give you a good life. I'm sorry, but I was afraid, son, that if you stayed with me, only troubles awaited you. It's been 36 years since that day, and I can assure you what I did was to save you from the fate that later befell me and your late sister. We both ended up behind bars…"

"Late sister?" Nathan's eyes widened in shock, and his palms went cold. He had no idea he had a sibling, let alone that his mother and sister were imprisoned.

"Today, I want to finally tell you what happened all those years ago and why I left you," continued the letter. "36 years ago, your father and I had just returned after pulling off our biggest heist…"

36 years ago…

As the old Valiant came to a halt, its tires crunched the dry leaves and snapped the twigs on the dirt ground. The forest stood quiet except for the occasional chirping of crickets and the distant hooting of an owl.

Simon killed the engine, and he and his wife, Catherine, exited the vehicle and headed to the trunk to get the night's haul.

"I'm going to take the car to the scrap yard…get rid of it," Simon said as he opened the trunk. "Most likely, the car was seen."

"I can't believe it!" Catherine chirped, her eyes glistening at the jewels in a bag. "We did it, Simon! We succeeded!" She threw herself in his arms and kissed him. "This is going to solve all our problems!"

They gathered all the bags with the loot and marched to their wooden home in the forest.

"Honey, we're home!" Catherine called out as they entered.

"Shh! Mother!" Their daughter Elizabeth appeared in the living room, holding Nathan in her arms and scowling. "I understand your excitement! But it was hard getting him to sleep!"

Elizabeth was 17 at the time, and Nathan was just 8 months old. So when their parents were away, Elizabeth was entrusted with the responsibility of looking after him.

"Is he OK?" Catherine approached Nathan worriedly. "He's too young to go through so much."

"He's fine," Elizabeth said as she cradled him. "He was fussy and cried a little during the day, but I was able to calm him down. Are you two all right?"

Elizabeth was aware of her parents' efforts to keep them afloat. Simon and Catherine were like Bonnie and Clyde, except they were just involved in robbing the wealthy. They had a long list of 'targets' whose homes were brimming with cash. That night of robbery had been their most successful one, as they had stolen over $300,000 in cash and approximately $1 million in antiques and jewelry from the home of a wealthy merchant.

"We are totally fine, daring!" Catherine chirped while holding up the loot. "It was a great night if you ask us!"

The whole family gathered at the kitchen table after Elizabeth put Nathan to sleep in his nursery. Elizabeth and Catherine were sorting through the loot when Simon broke the silence.

"I have a surprise for everyone!" he grinned and placed three passports on the table. "This is our gateway to freedom. Nobody will be able to guess they are fakes. One for each one of us," he added. "I have a plan to get us out of here and build the kind of life we deserve…Tomorrow, we'll depart for Mexico, followed by a trip to Europe..."

Simon devised the cunning plan of running away from the country with his family. They would use their fake passports to get away and never return to their hometown.

"But before that, we'll stop by Christopher's store in the morning, and he'll buy all these antiques and jewelry from us and give us a car," Simon continued while Catherine and Elizabeth checked the passports. "A friend will help us cross the border, and my close acquaintances will welcome us in Europe, where they've found the best course of treatment for Nathan…"

Little Nathan was diagnosed with cancer and needed urgent treatment. That was the primary reason why Simon and Catherine were involved in criminal activity. Simon was a regular worker at a sawmill before that, and Catherine was a homemaker. The couple resorted to stealing because they saw no other way to gather the money needed for Nathan's treatment and to save him from death.

Simon and Catherine decided to settle in Europe once Nathan received treatment, and then they would start a carefree life from scratch. Nathan was Simon's biological child, and he couldn't let his blood suffer. And while Elizabeth was his stepdaughter, he cared for her too. They shared a good bond.

"And so, we begin the journey to a new life!" Simon finished and rose excitedly, and Elizabeth and Catherine went to his side and hugged him. They stood like that for a moment, basking in their joy, like the happy family whose lives were about to improve and get exciting.

Later, Catherine went to bed alone after dinner because she knew Simon would take the car to the scrap yard to get rid of it.

The light streaming through the cottage window woke her up the next morning. "Simon..." she murmured in sleep, turning to hug him, but her fingertips only met the empty bedsheet.

She opened her eyes, only to realize Simon wasn't there. In fact, his side of the bed was perfectly made, as if he had never slept on it.

"Simon?" she called out as she climbed out of the bed, but there were no replies from him. She checked the whole cottage and even outside, but he was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had gone for a walk around the forest like he did sometimes, Catherine thought.

But as she walked through the living room area, she noticed something that made her shudder: the cabinet where they had put the loot and passports was unlocked.

She hadn't seen it before since she was too focused on finding Simon, but as Catherine crouched down and opened the cabinet's slightly cracked doors, she gasped in shock.

A wave of dread swept over her, and her heart sank. The loot was gone. Simon's passport was gone. Catherine collapsed to the floor, sobbing in fear as she realized what had happened.

Simon had fled with the loot and his passport, leaving their family in misery. She didn't have money for Nathan's treatment any longer. If the police somehow tracked her down, she had no money or way to leave the country. She was trapped with a sick son and a young daughter.

Catherine buried her face in her knees, sobbing incessantly after how helpless she felt. She had no idea what turn her fate would take now. Suddenly, she felt a firm grasp on her shoulder.

"Mother? Are you OK?" Elizabeth kneeled beside her worriedly. "Wha-What happened? Why are you crying? Where's Daddy?"

"He's gone, Eliza!" Catherine sobbed. "He left us in a mess, disappeared with all the money and jewelry...He's gone! I don't know what to do now. Nathan's treatment, and…" Catherine sobbed and vented her frustrations in front of her daughter.

Elizabeth pulled her close, comforting her. "Well, then we just have to keep doing what we were doing. I'll help you in the next robbery," she offered. "I can—"

"No!" Catherine interrupted her, wiping her tears and moving away from her daughter. "Did I ask for that? I won't let you or Nathan be a part of it as long as I'm alive! My children will not become robbers! Do you hear what I'm saying?"

"Come back to your senses, mother!" Elizabeth retorted. "How do you think this ends? Are we going to stop and wait for the police to find us, which will happen sooner or later, and let my brother die?"

That's when it hit Catherine. She actually didn't have a way out of the situation. She couldn't pull off a robbery by herself, and she was desperate for money.

Catherine considered her options. She had to look after her son and daughter, and Elizabeth could help her. So she agreed to take Elizabeth on the next robbery.

"There was a house on the list your father and I had made…We were going to rob it," Catherine wiped her tears as she returned with the list.

It was a house in a wealthy district. An accidental leak from a chemical factory in the area had polluted the water-supplying pipelines, and there was a disinfection drive being carried out in full swing.

"We had decided to visit the house and introduce ourselves as sanitation workers," Catherine told Elizabeth. "We were going to pretend that we were there to disinfect the pipes. And once we get them to step out of their house, we rob them. The equipment we need is still in the garage." She looked at the wall clock. "The workers will start arriving soon. Let's go."

Catherine slung Nathan across her chest as she and Elizabeth drove out of the forest in their old car, taking the shortcut. The vehicle's tires snapped the little twigs and branches as they moved along the dirt road, the forest noises fading.

They were soon on the road leading out of the woods, the sound of heated tires crunching the gravel on the paved road shattering the silence. But before heading to the district, Catherine stopped by her acquaintance and old neighbor Alice's home.

"Catherine? What are you doing here?" Alice was visibly taken aback when she saw her.

"I don't have time to explain everything," she said quickly, undoing the sling across her chest. "He's my son. He's far too young to be left alone. Could you please look after him for a day or two?"

"Are you in the business again?" Alice asked suspiciously. Alice had agreed to accompany Simon and Catherine in the first robbery, but she'd changed her mind later, deciding she would not go down the path of crime.

"Please, don't ask anything," Catherine pleaded as Nathan wriggled in her arms.

"Is that Elizabeth in the car?" Alice looked over her shoulder. "Did you also involve your daughter? Catherine, no! I can't believe you—"

"I had no choice!" Catherine interrupted her. "My son has cancer. Simon robbed us and fled with the money we were going to use for Nathan's surgery," she lamented. "I will try to be back soon!"

"Think about your children, Catherine! You are responsible for them, and you shouldn't force them into a life of crime. Eliza is only 17 years old!" Alice sighed. "You have already pulled your daughter into that life. Make sure this will not happen to your son…" Alice said and took little Nathan.

"I wish I had another way out, but I don't. Just keep him for a day or two. Thank you," Catherine replied and walked away. As she started the car, she saw Alice carry Nathan into the house. Catherine and Elizabeth drove away, oblivious to what awaited them.

An hour later, Elizabeth and Catherine pulled over. Having arrived at their target home, they rang the doorbell twice and waited. The sound of footsteps appeared moments later, and an older woman stood in the doorway. She scanned them from head to toe.

"Good afternoon. Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"Good day. I believe you are aware that your area is being disinfected today due to an accident at the chemical plant?" Catherine asked. Elizabeth stood behind her. They were disguised in chemical protection suits and masks so that nobody would identify them.

"Oh yes, there you are!" exclaimed the woman. "I have been waiting for this problem to be resolved! This has caused enough problems for everyone."

"Can you show us where the sewer pipe is in your house? And yes, we would like everyone to leave the house for about 20-30 minutes while we take samples for testing and perform the disinfection," Catherine said.

"Yes, please, this way," the older woman led them inside, and Catherine and Elizabeth exchanged a glance, glad that the woman was gullible and that the first step of their plan was successfully executed.

After the older woman showed them around and left, Catherine and Elizabeth went about their job. They dumped all the valuables and gold they found in their bags as quickly as possible. While going through one of the bedrooms, Catherine stumbled upon a secret safe built into the wall.

She noticed the safe had a flat keyhole. It wouldn't be hard to get through this. She had done it before. She took the flat-head screwdriver out of her bag and began picking the lock. A few more turns of the screwdriver…and click! The safe opened. It was loaded with cash, which she hurriedly stuffed into her bag.

"The pipes are cleaned, so you can use the water. You can now go inside the house," Catherine told the older woman about 20 minutes later as she and Elizabeth left the house.

They climbed into the car and removed their masks, relieved to breathe freely without the covering around their nose and excited that they had pulled off the robbery.

But their joy didn't last long. A man rose from the back seat and tightly pressed a cloth soaked in chloroform against each of their noses. Before they would protest, they succumbed to the chemical. Their eyes rolled back into their heads, and they fell into a deep sleep.

When they opened their eyes, they could sense the familiar smell. They were trapped in their home basement, their hands and feet tied and their mouths taped.

"I can't believe you dragged your daughter into crime! Bravo!" The basement door flung open, and a loud voice distracted them. It was Simon.

"Thank you for your efforts! As always, fantastic work!" he chuckled as he looked at Catherine. "After what I did, I knew you would go for the robbery. You poor thing. You must've thought I would have left the country by now! Well, I was just waiting for you to finish the job…"

As Simon continued his speech, Catherine reached for the small blade hidden in the bracelet around her wrist. Simon had no clue about it. She moved it carefully against the thick rope, careful not to draw Simon's attention to it. Slowly, the blade seemed to cut through the thick cord, and her hands were eventually free.

"...since the job is done," Simon finished, pulling out his gun. "There's no need to keep you alive, Catherine."

Simon approached her with the loaded weapon, his finger on the trigger, but Catherine was ready. As he got closer, she sprang to her feet and shoved him away. But during their scuffle, a gunshot rang out. Blood splattered in the air. Simon thudded to the floor and passed out.

If only the gun had turned in Elizabeth's direction, Catherine could've lost her forever. Catherine noticed blood oozing out of her husband's gunshot wound, staining the basement floor. Her hands shook, and she breathed heavily as she quickly tied him up, not caring if he lived or died. All she cared about was that he did not get away.

Catherine then untied the ropes around Elizabeth's hands and feet, and they fled with the loot. The sounds of the forest appeared to fade as she and Elizabeth drove to the road that would take them out of the woods.

On the way, Catherine dialed Christopher, the antique store owner to whom they regularly sold all the looted antiques and jewels. "Hello, Chris. Are you at the store?" she asked breathlessly.

Thankfully, he was, so Catherine told him she would visit him soon. As she hung up, she swerved onto the road to Alice's house to pick up Nathan.

Catherine's eyes were moist that day, and she was driving with a sense of guilt in her chest. Her mind and heart told her just one thing: she was a lousy mother who had ruined her daughter's life by involving her in a crime. She would've lost her daughter if the bullet had struck Elizabeth instead of Simon. And a part of her would never forget that she had left her wounded husband to die.

"Mother! That was cool! Who is our next target?" Elizabeth's voice distracted Catherine, sending a shock down her spine.

"Don't you dare repeat those words, Eliza!" she screamed angrily. "You are not going to do it again! Do you hear what I am saying?"

"But Mother—"

"Stop it!" Catherine yelled, quieting her daughter. When they arrived at Alice's house, Catherine killed the engine and sat in the car for five minutes. She couldn't explain how she felt—the strange ache in her chest and the way her stomach churned with a terrible uneasiness—but she had to do it.

"Mother, are-are you OK?" Elizabeth asked timidly.

"We are leaving Nathan with Alice," Catherine answered in the spur of the moment and climbed out of the car. Arriving at Alice's doorstep, Catherine knocked on the door multiple times before it opened. Alice stepped out.

Present-day…

"...And I left you with Alice. Alice agreed to accept you as her own son, and I was glad," continued the letter. "At least one of my children was saved from a life of crime and…death. I left Alice almost all the loot I had so she could pay for your treatment.

"Then Elizabeth and I drove to the Mexican border. We had 50 miles to go when the cops found us and arrested us. I received 30 years of imprisonment, and Elizabeth…she could've served 5 years and left the dark life of crime. She could've started her life from scratch. But unfortunately, that's not what happened.

"When she got out of prison, she continued to commit thefts. She was sentenced again and died in prison 22 years later. I left you for your own good, Nathan. I wanted to shield you from the bad, keep you away from the dark life I had lived. I didn't want you to become like one of us or put your life in danger like I did with Elizabeth. Forgive me for not being a good mother.

— Catherine."

Nathan leaned back in his chair, his heart heavy from reading the letter.

Right then, there was a knock on the door.

"Ye-Yes, come in!" he hurriedly replied, hiding the letter in the drawer, but as he looked up, he stopped, and his eyes grew moist.

Nathan didn't realize when he was on his feet, hugging his mother. "You did the right thing," he whispered as they stood there, embracing each other. "You did exactly what any mother would do for her child."

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