Robbers tied the man to the stove and began to undress his daughter in front of him, but a single sentence from her brought them to their knees

The workshop, which had already become completely deserted, looked depressing. The men who both worked here and owned the establishment surveyed his possessions. On one hand, he was sad that the workshop was empty.

On the other hand, he understood that it was all temporary. For many years, he had worked for a boss, and only recently had he dared to start his own business. In the first few months, his income exceeded his salary, but he felt that it was not enough. He was counting on much bigger money, but he was happy that he could do what he really liked.

The farm rang, and the man wiped his hands on a rag and went to the farm. He entered a clean, cozy room, took his phone off the shelf, unplugged the charging cord, and picked up the receiver.

When he heard the voice of the person calling him, he immediately wanted to hang up. He thought that he should have looked at the screen before picking up the phone. It was his ex-wife and the mother of his daughter calling. He couldn’t stand her and didn’t want to listen to her complaints once again.

“Ben, don’t hang up. I know you. You can hang up at any moment, and then everyone around will be blamed for not warning you. Teresa is coming to see you,” the woman said, and when she mentioned the daughter’s name, there was contempt in her voice. “Do a good deed, don’t take her in. If you knew who she’s involved with, you wouldn’t let her in for anything. Listen to my good advice, she definitely won’t bring you any good.”

“My daughter is coming to visit me for the first time in several years, and you want me to leave her outside? And where do these silly thoughts come from? Aren’t you tired of all this?” the man responded irritably, but his voice remained calm. He was holding himself back, and she knew it well.

“She will come and stay with me for as long as she needs, and if you can’t repair your relationship with your daughter, that doesn’t mean that everyone else should destroy those relationships,” the woman on the other end of the line was initially silent. She muttered something, but then bit her tongue again.

She was clearly picking her words, trying to start the conversation again but this time achieve what she wanted. She cleared her throat, her voice becoming much calmer. “Then I may not be a very good person, but have I ever given you bad advice? I recently found out who she’s been involved with, and believe me, if you knew this information too, you wouldn’t be defending her now. The guy she’s been running around with is a thief, maybe even a murderer or a rapist.

I don’t know for sure, but clearly he doesn’t have a good relationship with the law. Is this how we raised our daughter?” The woman exclaimed. The composure she had maintained all this time was shattered. “Did we raise our daughter? It was you who raised our daughter like this.

When she was six, you took her away from me, and then through the court, you even forbade me from seeing her. That was when I finally managed to at least see her. I could have had an influence on her, but apparently it was too late. It’s good that after all your manipulations, she even wants to see me.”

Sid Paul Ben hung up the phone, pushed it away, and looked around the cozy room he was in. He took off his jacket, got dressed, and went outside. It was quite cold outside, but he liked this weather. He closed the workshop, got into his car, and drove home. His mood was completely ruined after talking to his ex-wife.

Paul arrived home, turned on the lights, and took off his outerwear. He was alone with himself, and he liked this state of mind the most. Since his divorce, he had tried to build relationships multiple times, but nothing good came out of it. All the women he met were only interested in his income, and nothing else mattered to them.

He knew that there were other women, but they had already been taken. As his father always said, one should choose a woman when they are very young, while they are still very young, and before those who can afford a woman at any age take them away. He had chosen the wrong woman. His ex-wife shouldn’t have become his wife at all.

She became pregnant, and he had to marry her. They divorced literally the year after their daughter was born. It was the most difficult relationship of his life because they would break up, get back together, get divorced again, get back together again, and then he ran out of patience. He left, and since then, he only communicated with his daughter.

The man opened the refrigerator, took out an asician pie, or rather its remains, put the kettle on, and sat down at the table. He chewed, watched what was happening on TV, and tried not to get distracted by anything. Whenever he did, he drowned in his own thoughts, which clearly did not bring him any pleasure.

Paul received a message from his daughter and thought that he should go to the station tomorrow to pick her up. He took a shower, straightened the bed, took a book, and read a little before going to bed. Then he turned off the light and went to sleep. For quite a while, he couldn’t fall asleep.

He tossed and turned, his thoughts revolving around his daughter and what his ex-wife had said. He knew for sure that he would accept his daughter no matter who she was going to marry. He didn’t care at all, to be precise, because it was impossible to force anything on any adult, especially someone like Teresa with her character. If she made a decision, she would stick to it, even if it ended badly.

The man fell asleep and woke up to the sound of the alarm clock. He rubbed his eyes, set the alarm clock for 10 minutes, and instantly fell back into darkness. When the alarm clock rang again, getting up was much harder than 10 minutes ago.

He got up, took a cold shower, then a long one. He brushed his teeth, got dressed, and went outside. He got behind the wheel and drove towards the station. His eyes were closing, and coffee was constantly flashing in his right hand, spilling onto the coaster.

The man stood near the station, looking around. He wanted his daughter to recognize him on her own because he didn’t want to jump and wave his hands. All he wanted was to go to sleep. When a pretty young girl appeared in the station doors, rolling a dark purple suitcase behind her, his sleepiness vanished. He got up, hurried to her to help with the suitcase. She hugged him, kissed him on the cheek. They returned to the car, she sat in the next seat, straightened her shirt.

“Teresa smiled at her father. ‘His mom called you yet? I knew she would start calling you to make you not accept me. She had such a scandal that I will probably never forget it. She was yelling so much that the neighbors called the police,” Teresa was telling her father. She looked tired, but it was justified because she had been on the road for more than 15 hours. She looked a little disheveled, unhappy.

‘Don’t look at me like that. I’m fine, I’m just very tired the bus broke down halfway, and we had to freeze our butts off on the street for a few hours before the bus started moving. I didn’t sleep well. I want to eat. Alright, let’s not cook. Let’s just go somewhere, order food, go home, eat, and have coffee. Then you’ll go to bed,” the man said with a smile.

“Your mother really did call. She wanted me to not let you in because you got involved with someone unknown, but it doesn’t matter to me who you got involved with. Well, not that it doesn’t matter. I just know that you won’t listen to my advice anyway, and I would rather maintain a relationship with you. That’s much more important than imposing my point of view on you,” he added.

She nodded in agreement. The car moved, and they drove home. When they arrived, the pizza was still hot. Paul threw his bag in the corner and let his daughter go ahead. They sat on the couch in front of the TV, unpacked the food, and chatted. Their mood was wonderful. He didn’t ask why his daughter came to this god-forsaken town, and he didn’t want to know if it could somehow affect his relationship with her.

Teresa left, chatted happily, and looked carefree and happy when she went to sleep in another room. Paul cleared the table, gathered all the boxes, sorted the pizza slices, and put them in the refrigerator. He went to bed too because he was terribly tired. The past few weeks had been very difficult. He slept only three hours, and now he constantly felt tired. His joints were spinning, and he had a constant headache. Every now and then, he felt like he couldn’t even get out of bed.

“I don’t know, I just arrived,” the daughter’s muffled voice sounded, which Paul heard through his sleep. He didn’t immediately realize he had woken up. He lay in bed, facing the door. He heard his daughter talking on the phone. “He said he won’t give me anything. I talked to his mother and his son, and he said he doesn’t care,” the conversation unfolded very slowly. But what was even more offensive was that he couldn’t understand anything.

Paul listened, trying to grasp as much as possible from this conversation that worried him. He understood that it was about something clearly illegal, but he couldn’t do anything about it. The man wanted to get up, to put his ear to the door, but he was afraid of being heard. At the same moment, he felt ashamed that he wanted to eavesdrop on his daughter’s conversation.

“He threatened you? Why should we just sit and wait for this situation to turn in our favor? Why should I sit and wait while you deal with all of this?” she asked rather loudly, but almost every sentence that started loudly ended in a whisper. Apparently, her emotions kicked in first, and then she remembered that her father was sleeping in the next room. “David, I don’t want to just sit and wait for this situation to resolve itself. I’m a grown woman, and I can stand up for myself.”

The conversation ended. The only thing the man regretted was not hearing the other side. He got out of bed and went to the shower. No one was in the living room. His daughter was still in her room. He took a shower and put on the coffee maker to make stronger coffee. He sat down at the table and covered his face with his hands.

“Dad, are you okay?” she asked, addressing her father.

“Yes, Teresa, don’t worry. I’ve just been working a lot lately, but it doesn’t seem to be helping much. I’m supposed to be a grown man and shouldn’t complain, but I still want to talk about it. I quit my job to open an auto shop. I work constantly and only get three to four hours of sleep, but it doesn’t seem to be helping much.

My income barely exceeds my salary, but I spend a lot more time on it. If I had the opportunity to go back to my old job and quit all of this, I probably would because I’m very tired. There aren’t that many people here, so people don’t want to pay for car repairs. I know I’m a good mechanic, but the town is too small to make a living,” he confessed.

She took a piece of pizza out of the fridge and put it on a plate for herself. She sat next to him and put her hand on his arm. She said some words of encouragement and then suggested going to the auto shop. He agreed. After all, his daughter had a chain of restaurants, and even though the industries weren’t exactly related, she understood how to work with business.

She said she would check his papers, help optimize something, and come up with something else if necessary. He was grateful to her because he realized that at his age, he couldn’t work at such a fast pace for too long. He didn’t expect quick results, but he wanted at least minimal returns for all the work he had done. The man thanked his daughter, thinking that tomorrow they would come to his auto shop, and maybe from tomorrow on, at least something would become easier.

The next morning, they woke up, took a shower, had breakfast, drank coffee, and headed to the car. Teresa looked tired and worn out, while he looked refreshed and as always, cheerful. He was pleased with how good she looked. He himself wanted to forget about all his problems and not undermine himself so early in the morning. He wanted to get some real rest and have at least one full day off a week. Since he opened his auto repair shop, he never had a day off at all.

They arrived at the auto repair shop. They spent the whole day sorting through papers. She gave him advice, and he wrote everything down. It seemed like she was stating the obvious things that he had never paid attention to before, and yet he could have come up with all these improvements himself. The man was grateful to his daughter. He kept talking about how amazed he was that such a young girl could understand business so well.

She gave a few more pieces of advice, and the work continued. It was much quieter in the auto repair shop after sunset when it emptied out. The man locked the door, and they sat in the administrative area to discuss everything that had been listed before. She explained to him how to speed up the process, how to optimize everything, how to do everything so that he spent less time but earned more. He absorbed all of her comments like a sponge.

But then, both of them flinched as the sound of broken glass echoed, and several people burst into the room. Thieves stormed into the administrative room, and within seconds, they had tied up Paul. The girl was so flustered that she couldn’t react at all. So Paul refused to pay us, well, we’re going to ransack your place now. You’ll learn not to mess with us,” one of them said, tying the man to a radiator.

The thieves bound the man to the radiator and began to undress his daughter in front of him. Strangely enough, she was either in shock or who knows what was going on in her head, but she didn’t resist much. Maybe she understood that resisting three men was simply useless. The man struggled and thrashed, but he couldn’t break free from the handcuffs that bound him to the radiator. Tears welled up in his eyes from hysteria, but one phrase from his daughter shocked everyone.

“If you don’t leave right now, Rakitin will grind you into dust, as he likes to say. There can never be too many severed heads,” she said, and her calmness suddenly made sense.

The thieves all exchanged glances, one of them staring nervously at her and biting his lip, while she smiled. And that smile made him tremble. “What nonsense is this? How could you even know Rakitin?” one of the thieves burst out.

And then she realized that her words had an effect, as the thief’s voice began to tremble with fear. They were even afraid to utter his name. “Yes, because I’m his wife, you bastards. So, you can go to him now and repent, and tell him how you almost raped his wife,” she said sharply and wrenched both hands free. Those who had held her before now slumped. They all looked at each other, not knowing what to do. Her calmness and her words spoken with such certainty indicated that she was not lying.

But the main one among them, who still held the gun, doubted. His voice trembled, and he still couldn’t believe that he had gotten himself into such trouble. But unlike the leader, the rest of the guys kneeled before her. They certainly believed her, or maybe they decided to apologize in advance so that it wouldn’t be too bad later. They begged her for forgiveness, and she just smiled in their faces.

The leader handed her the keys to the handcuffs that were used to chain her father to the radiator. He walked out onto the street without apologizing to her. The others were still begging for forgiveness, unable to stand up from their knees. Only when she said that nothing would happen to them did they gradually stand up and retreat from there.

When the room emptied, she was left alone with her father. Teresa freed him, realizing that a serious conversation was now in order. He looked at her as if she had performed a miracle. He was afraid to speak to her; his tongue seemed to have tied itself in knots.

“You probably don’t know who David Rakitin is. I can’t tell you everything, but I want you to know that no one will dare to hurt me. Anyone who knows Rakitin, any person even remotely connected to the criminal world, knows his surname. No one will touch me for any reason. And these idiots apparently have just entered this sphere. You can be sure that the rumors will spread quickly. No more rats will appear here,” she said, addressing her father. She lowered her eyes, and he understood that she was struggling with a feeling of guilt for not talking to him about it earlier.

“So, who is your mother talking about? As a father, I probably should have caused a scene. I should have had a serious conversation with you about getting involved with such people because it’s always dangerous. But on the other hand, if he doesn’t hurt you, and your relationship with him protects you from all these troubles, I’ll be happy,” the man said, shrugging. He really takes care of me a lot.

It’s just that sometimes I feel like I’m too young for such a relationship. But when we’re alone together, when he lets go of all his work and all his affairs, I really feel happy. And is there really anything more in life that we need? You know yourself that living is very difficult now. We’re born, we learn, we learn again. Then almost until the end of our lives, we work just to live on a miserable pension. I don’t want that kind of life. Living is very difficult now, and all we need in life is to feel happy. That’s the only meaning in this stupid rush,” Teresa said, addressing her father.

They returned to the car as he fixed the broken glass. They drove home and didn’t talk about it anymore. It’s not that he didn’t want to talk about his daughter’s spouse; he just didn’t want to know more than he should. In fact, he really felt internal resistance because he didn’t want to see a criminal authority next to his daughter. But apparently, it was the perfect option for her. She was aware of the risks and understood that all these relationships could end badly. But on the other hand, it was much better than languishing in some low-paying job and missing out on life, spending days in the office.

They silently drove all the way home, and the man didn’t say a word anymore. He just wanted his daughter to feel at home here. He didn’t even suspect that it was probably that same man who sent her here to protect her from some trouble. He felt uneasy, but he wouldn’t talk about it.

They arrived home and cooked together. They had fun spending time together, then had dinner and went to bed. Day by day, their relationship gradually got better. He tried not to think about who she had gotten involved with or what the consequences might be. After all that had happened with them, he wanted to have a good relationship with his daughter. He had already lost several years of communication with her while her mother fought for sole custody in court.

Teresa was grateful that her father did not ask unnecessary questions. When a whole entourage arrived at the house, the man realized that they had come for her. Teresa’s face immediately lit up. She picked her father on the cheek, quickly packed her things, and flew out onto the street. When she got down, it turned out that a relatively middle-aged man had gotten out of the car. He was about 45 years old, while Teresa was barely 25.

Paul looked out the window at them. He shook his head sadly, realizing that he couldn’t do anything. He left them alone. The man returned to breakfast, thinking that his daughter was in good hands. Soon, the procession disappeared, and he was left alone. All he had left was to continue working and try to rebuild his life.

He looked at his daughter, talked to her all this time, and it led him to different thoughts. After all, he was not so old as to give up on himself. He would definitely meet a woman who would suit him. He would continue to develop his business and maybe even feel happy again.

When a few days later, there was a knock on the door, the man did not even expect that this knock could bring changes to his life. When he opened the door, he saw a man he didn’t know. He handed him some papers, apologized for the inconvenience, and left. Paul entered inside, not even having time to say anything. He opened the papers and immediately sat down on a chair. He could not believe his eyes because he was looking at documents that proved that his auto repair shop had been sold. There was also an account with all the money, which was replenished with a very large sum.

Of course, his workshop was not worth anywhere near that amount. In addition, a gift deed was attached to the documents for a completely different place. Paul decided not to wait. If life gave him such a chance to change everything, he would definitely take advantage of it. Paul packed his things, put them in his car, and drove to another city. He spent almost 12 hours on the road before reaching the new city where his property was now located.

He drove up to the brand new workshop and was stunned by what he saw. It was a huge auto repair shop where people were working at full speed. They greeted him, handed him the remaining documents, and even gave him instructions on how to manage everything. The most interesting thing was that he was no longer obligated to work here; he was now only the owner, and all the employees were well off.

From this moment on, Paul’s new life began. With the money he received from selling his old workshop, he bought himself an apartment and settled down in the new big city. He couldn’t be happier that everything around him was getting better. He was immersing himself more and more into this new life where he practically had no limitations. His workshop was generating a lot of profit, and he could practically afford anything he wanted.

Now that he was living in the same city as his daughter, they saw each other every week. He was thrilled that he no longer had to wait years before she would visit him. He also got to meet her husband, who turned out to be a pretty pleasant guy. They became such good friends with David that they would hang out almost every week just to spend time together as friends.

Paul enjoyed how much his life had changed for the better. He had his own business, made a very kind and good woman, and had his own apartment. Soon enough, they were living together, and their daily life was simple and pleasant. They spent a lot of time together, and Paul never stopped being grateful for how life could change dramatically.

Not too long ago, he would only sleep for three to four hours a day, disappearing at work. Now, he would only come to work once a week or even less, and the manager took care of everything else. He loved enjoying life while his business ran on its own. Of course, there were occasional problems, but he had a lot of experience in solving them. He would fix everything, and the business would run like clockwork again.

Foreign customers started coming in, attracted by the reputation of his auto repair shop. The news spread that it was managed by the former owner of the renowned workshop in the small town. The quality of service and expertise made his new business thrive, and Paul’s reputation grew in the industry.

With the success of his business and the love and support of his daughter and her husband, Paul felt a renewed sense of purpose and happiness. He no longer felt tired and worn out from the constant struggle. Instead, he embraced the opportunities that life had presented to him, cherishing each moment.

As the years went by, Paul’s workshop became well-known not only in the city but in the entire region. His reputation as an excellent mechanic and a fair businessman spread far and wide. He expanded his operations, opening more branches in neighboring cities and hiring skilled technicians to work alongside him.

Despite his success, Paul remained humble and grounded. He valued the relationships he had built, not only with his daughter and son-in-law but also with his employees and customers. He treated everyone with respect and fairness, earning their loyalty and trust.

Paul’s journey from a deserted and depressing workshop to a thriving and fulfilling life taught him valuable lessons. He learned the importance of perseverance, taking risks, and embracing change. Most importantly, he discovered that happiness and success can come from unexpected places, and that it’s never too late to start anew.

And so, Paul continued to live his life, grateful for the second chance he had been given. He embraced each day with enthusiasm, knowing that he had overcome challenges and built a life that he could be proud of. His journey was a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of determination.