Man Is Fired for Delivering Food to Disabled Lady after Café Hours, Sees Her Photo in Boss’ Office Next Day – Story of the Day

Luke is fired from his delivery job for breaking the café rules and delivering food to a disabled woman in a forest hut. When he returns to the café office to collect his severance check, Luke sees her picture on his boss's desk.

Luke's heart leaped in his chest as he stood in his boss, Mr. Cox's office. It felt like he was standing on pins and needles.

Luke had landed in hot water for breaching the cafe's rules and delivering food to a disabled woman after business hours.

"What the hell did you think you were doing, Luke?" Mr. Cox yelled. "Cooking and delivering food after café hours without my permission? Do you think you're the one in charge now?"

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"I'm sorry, Mr. Cox," Luke apologized. "The customer was a disabled woman. She lives alone in the woods...and I couldn't refuse when she placed that order, saying she was starving."

"So? Am I running a café or a charity institution? I'm sorry, Luke, but I have to let you go. Breaking our policies is strictly prohibited, and what you did is...unacceptable."

A pang of anxiety and fear rushed into Luke's heart, and he couldn't afford to lose this breadwinning job. He was a single father who had a teen daughter to take care of. So this job was his everything.

"Please, sir...I can't lose this job. I promise this won't happen again. Please," Luke pleaded. But his pleas fell on deaf ears.

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"Please don't do this to me, sir," Luke begged. "My daughter Sarah needs me. She's all I have. I need this job...it's what brings food to our table. Please give me just one chance. I'll never ever break the rules. Please, sir."

"YOU ARE FIRED, Luke! Quit wasting my time. Get out...or I'll have to ask someone to escort you out of here."

With a heavy heart and a ton of responsibilities on his shoulders, Luke emptied his locker and left the eatery.

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How am I going to tell Sarah that her Dad is jobless now? How will I fulfill my promise of raising her well? Luke was haunted.

After spending a long, agonizing night at home, Luke arrived at the café office the next morning to collect his severance check.

"You're on time for this...but you can't do what you were hired for!" Mr. Cox scoffed at Luke as he tossed an envelope on the desk. "Take your last check and get out."

Luke felt numb. He approached Mr. Cox's desk, and just as he leaned to pick up the envelope, a framed photo of a woman caught him off guard.

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"This woman..." he exclaimed, grabbing the photo frame. "I know her! She's the one I delivered food to last evening."

"What are you blabbering?" Mr. Cox rose from his chair.

"Sir...the woman in this photo...standing beside you, holding your hand...I delivered food to her yesterday."

"Are you crazy? That's my sister...she's been missing for the last three years. We did everything to find her, but in vain. And you're claiming to have seen her here…in this city? What nonsense."

"Mr. Cox...you got to believe me. I'm sure it's her. She lives in an old cabin in the woods."

Luke noticed a sharp emotion in Mr. Cox's eyes. "Can you...take me to her?" he asked.

"Yes."

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Luke and Mr. Cox arrived at the cabin in the woods and knocked on the door.

"What's taking her so long?" Mr. Cox grumbled.

"She can barely move without her walker, sir."

"Hello...Ma'am...are you there? Can we please talk to you?" Luke banged on the door again.

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Moments later, the door creaked open, and a woman stepped out, leaning on her walker for support. Mr. Cox couldn't believe his eyes that grew as wide as saucers.

"Alice? I'm sorry. I'm Catherine."

"Alice, I'm Jordan, your brother. Don't you remember me? I've been looking for you for so long."

"Brother?" the woman whispered, trying to jog her memory.

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"I'm sorry. But I can't remember anything. I have amnesia. My boyfriend told me my name was Catherine. But..." she paused. "...you look so familiar to me."

"That's because I'm your brother! Luke, call 911."

Luke pulled out his phone and turned away. But before he could dial the number, he felt a sharp blow to his head and collapsed on the ground.

The last thing he saw was Mr. Cox holding a rock. Then it all went black.

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When Luke opened his eyes a couple of hours later, he felt a stinging pain at the back of his head.

"God, where am I?" he looked around. His hands and feet were tied up, and he was held captive in the dark basement of Catherine's cabin, dimly lit by a sliver of light seeping through a crack on the door.

Luke frantically looked around for anything to untie his hands and found a glinting scythe on the corner.

Luke fell to his side and crawled to pick it up with his mouth. After what felt like an eternal struggle, Luke freed his hands and feet.

Suddenly, he heard a faint voice coming from upstairs.

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As he slowly tiptoed upstairs, Luke realized it was Mr. Cox's voice.

Luke peered through the door crack and was shocked to see Catherine tied to a chair. Mr. Cox drew a knife...and Luke knew he had to do something.

He stormed into the room and charged at Mr. Cox, smacking his head with a wine bottle. Mr. Cox passed out.

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"Are you okay?" he asked Catherine, untying the tape sealed on her lips.

"I'm fine...thanks...thanks for helping me."

"We must get out of here before he wakes up...and call the cops. Hurry up," Luke said as he untied her hands.

"He has hidden our phones. How will we call for help?" Catherine gasped.

"He must have his!"

Luke rummaged through Mr. Cox's pockets and found his car keys and phone.

But the phone was locked with a password, so Luke and Catherine decided to make it to the police station.

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"I'm sorry for what happened," Luke said as he climbed into Mr. Cox's car. "I put you in this mess."

"It's not your fault, Luke...Nobody could've guessed my own brother would try to kill me. I guess now I know why Jordan wanted me dead. I had a few recollections...memories...as soon as I saw his face. While he held me captive in the cabin today, he told me everything about what happened three years ago..."

"Turns out I had hitchhiked to this city after fleeing my toxic fiancé," Catherine recounted. "...the night I arrived here, I had visited Jordan unannounced."

"I needed money and shelter. So, I thought Jordan would help me with my share of our parents' inheritance. But he refused, saying he'd spent half of it...

"And the next thing I remember, I was in the cabin in the woods. But I was not alone. A man named Nick told me I suffered an injury on my head during an accident...and I had lost my memory. We lived together for two years...but one day, Nick was gone. He never came back. Later, I learned he was a thief on the run."

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Luke felt sorry for Catherine. Suddenly, Mr. Cox's phone buzzed, distracting them.

"God...that's my number. He's calling from my phone," Luke swiped to answer.

"You haven't reached the cops yet, have you, Luke?" Mr. Cox spoke grimly. "Because in five minutes, I'll be at your house! And I'm sure Sarah would love to meet me."

A chill ran down Luke's spine as he slammed on the brakes.

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"Don't you dare touch my daughter," Luke growled. "Stay away from Sarah. She has nothing to do with this."

"Then be a good Daddy and bring my sister back to the cabin in half an hour."

Luke could hear his heartbeat in his ears. It was so horrifying. Sarah's face flashed in his mind...and Luke could not risk losing her.

"Fine!" he yelled. "Just don't do anything to my daughter."

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"He wants you...or he'll kill my daughter," Luke's voice shook as he turned the car around. "I have to take you back. But trust me...I won't let anything happen to you."

Instead of driving to the cabin directly, Luke first headed home. But his house was gravely silent.

"Sarah? Honey?"

But there was no answer and clearly no sign of Sarah, and Luke's heart started pounding. Suddenly, he noticed a note on the table.

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A rage washed over Luke. He stormed out of his house and got into the car.

"Is she fine?" Catherine asked him.

Luke disappointedly shook his head. "He got her."

"God, no. Just hand me over to Jordan, Luke. I don't want you to risk your daughter's life to save me.'

Luke swallowed his tears, forcing himself to contain his worst fears. He stepped hard on the gas pedal and sped to the cabin without uttering a word.

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As they neared the cabin, Luke's eyes bulged in horror. "Sarah...Oh God!"

Her hands and feet were tied, and Mr. Cox held a knife against her throat, flashing his evil smile.

Luke slammed on the brake pedal, and the car came to a heart-stopping halt.

"Leave my daughter alone...Your sister is here."

"You're not the one who makes rules here, Luke. Walk 30 steps away from the car," Mr. Cox then turned to Catherine.

"And you...get back in the car."

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"Okay, I'm doing as you say, alright?" Luke said timidly. "Please, lower that knife. Catherine, I'm sorry. I have to save my daughter."

As Catherine got back into the vehicle, Luke sneakily dropped his fitness band with activated GPS into the car door pocket, pretending to close the door.

He quickly ran those steps, and Mr. Cox pushed Sarah away and bolted to his car. He drove away with Catherine while Luke untied the ropes around Sarah's hands and feet.

"Dad...he took her. We need to save her."

"Don't worry, princess," Luke planted tearful kisses on Sarah's forehead. "We'll help her."

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Luke and Sarah ran out of the woods and finally arrived at the road. Time was running out, and there was no help in sight. About five minutes later, they saw a car approaching and ran to the middle of the road, waving their hands.

"Help...please, help us," Luke shouted, prompting the driver to stop the car.

"Please call 911. Our friend is in trouble. Please help us."

"I tossed my fitness band with the GPS on into his car...we can track them down."

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Luke and Sarah got into the police cruiser and drove along the geolocation Luke's fitness band showed.

A startled Sarah then nudged Luke to look at his tracker. "Dad...it stopped!"

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The cops sped up and rushed to the location last shown on the GPS. Suddenly, a voice from the transmitter distracted them.

"...We've got him. Target is in custody. He was trying to throw the woman off the bridge on the outskirts of the town."

"Oh God, Dad! We got him!" Sarah heaved a sigh of relief as she hugged her father.

"Yes, we did, princess!"

As they arrived at the scene where Mr. Cox was apprehended, Sarah and Luke saw Mr. Cox being led to a police cruiser. Catherine was sitting on the pavement with a female officer.

"Hey!" Luke approached her.

"Oh God, Luke. Are you okay?" Catherine jumped to her feet.

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"We're fine, Catherine. Are you alright?"

"Yes. Just hurt my hand a little...the ambulance will be here soon," she sighed.

"You must be..." she added, looking at Sarah.

"I'm Sarah. Nice to meet you, Catherine. Oh, sorry, Alice!"

The three shared a hearty laugh and sat on the pavement before the ambulance arrived.

"We'll visit you at the hospital. Take care," Luke waved at Catherine as the ambulance doors were shut.

"She's pretty, Dad, isn't she?" Sarah looked up at her father. "You like her, don't you?"

A shy smile lit up Luke's face as the ambulance disappeared into the distance.

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