My Deadbeat Dad Showed Up After 20 Years To Give Me A Warning. He Told Me To Never Get Into The Black Suv At My Own Wedding. Should I Trust The Man Who Abandoned Me Or The Family I’m Joining?
Caroline’s mind went blank. The condo, the very same one she grew up in, where her mother spent the last years of her life. After her mother’s death, the condo passed to Caroline. She lived in it now. Dan had moved in with her.
“Around 750,000,” she answered slowly. “750, maybe 800,000 at current market prices.”
“Robert specified, ‘And that’s not all. You have a lake house in Michigan you inherited from your grandmother. A plot of land on the water. House, dock, garden. When was the last time you were there?'”
Caroline remembered the lake house: a small cottage with carved trim, an orchard of apple trees, a nearby river. Her grandmother had died 8 years ago and left the house to her. Caroline rarely went. She never had time, but the place was well-kept. The neighbors looked after the property in exchange for keeping what they grew.
“A couple of years ago,” she admitted. “It’s in good shape. The neighbors watch it.”
“That lake house is worth around 350,000 now,” Robert said. “Maybe more. Land prices in that area have shot up since they ran gas lines and repaved the road. Developers are buying up land for new communities.”
Caroline felt her mouth go dry. $800,000 for the condo, $350,000 for the lake house. That was over a million. It would be more than enough to completely pay off Dan’s debt.
“My God,” she whispered. “They wanted access to my property.”
“Exactly,” Robert nodded. “The documents they would have given you in that car would have given Dan or his mother the right to dispose of your property in case of financial difficulties. Formally, it would look like a joint decision by the spouses. In reality, your condo and your lake house would become collateral for Dan’s debts.”
Caroline stared at her father.
“So if Dan couldn’t pay the loan, the bank could take my condo and the lake house?”
“Not the bank, exactly,” Robert corrected. “The bank wouldn’t have direct access to your property, but according to those documents you would have signed, Dan or his authorized representatives would get the right to sell your real estate to pay off the debts. And the authorized person would most likely be Beatrice. You would have signed the papers without even knowing you were handing over control of your property.”
“Why didn’t you go to the police?” she asked, lowering her hands. “Why not just report all of this?”
“Because formally no crime has been committed yet,” Robert replied. “A car request isn’t a crime. An attorney in the vehicle isn’t a crime. As long as you didn’t get in that car, as long as they didn’t take you away, as long as you didn’t sign anything, there’s no crime. The police wouldn’t have even considered such a report. At best, they would have advised you to be careful.”
Caroline exhaled. The logic was ironclad and terrifying.
“So I was just supposed to trust you,” she said. “A person who abandoned me 20 years ago.”
Her father was silent. He pulled into a side street and stopped the car near a small diner.
“Come on,” he said. “You need to pull yourself together. Then you can decide what to do.”
They went into the nearly empty diner, with only a couple of customers by the window. Robert ordered two coffees and sat across from his daughter at a corner table. Caroline looked at him, trying to understand what she felt. Anger, gratitude, fear—all at once.
“Why did you leave?” she asked suddenly. “20 years ago. Why did you just disappear?”
Robert picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. His face remained impassive.
“I was weak,” he said simply. “Work wasn’t going well. Money was tight. Your mother was constantly nagging me. I couldn’t handle it, so I left. It was the worst thing I ever did in my life.”
Caroline waited for him to continue. He didn’t.
“And that’s it?” she asked. “You just left and that’s all?”
“That’s all,” Robert confirmed. “There are no excuses. There weren’t then and there aren’t now.”
Caroline gripped her cup. Strangely, this stark honesty was more calming than any tearful apology would have been.
“Mom died 10 years ago,” Caroline said. “Cancer. She worked until the very end to provide for me. You probably didn’t even know.”
“I knew,” her father replied quietly. “I found out about 6 months after she died from old acquaintances. I wanted to visit the cemetery, but I didn’t have the courage.”
Caroline looked at him, not knowing what to say. Should she be angry, forgive him, push him away?
“Why are you keeping tabs on my life anyway?” she asked.
“I’m not,” Robert objected. “I just hear things sometimes by chance. The city isn’t that big. Mutual acquaintances. I knew you worked in procurement at a good company, that you were doing well. That was enough for me.”
Caroline exhaled.
“So what do I do now? Go back to Dan and say, ‘Hi darling, your mother tried to trick me and saddle me with your debts’?”
“That’s your decision,” Robert said. “I can’t decide for you, but you have the right to know the truth and you have the right to demand an explanation.”
Caroline took out her phone. 12 missed calls. Eight from Dan, three from Emily, one from a colleague. Even more text messages.
“Caroline, where are you? Answer. We’re worried. Are you okay?”
She looked at her father.
“Dan is going crazy right now. Everyone at the restaurant is waiting. I have to call.”
“Call,” Robert nodded. “Just think about what you’re going to say.”
Caroline dialed Dan’s number. He answered on the first ring.
“Caroline! God, where are you? I’ve been going out of my mind! Are you okay?”
His voice was filled with panic. Real, genuine panic.
“I’m fine. My phone died,” Caroline said. “Dan, I need to talk to you urgently, alone.”
“About what? What happened? You just left and nobody knows where you went! Emily said you just disappeared!”
“Dan, did you know that your mother ordered a separate car for me with a lawyer inside?”
Silence. Long, heavy silence.
“What?” Dan finally managed to say. “What car? What lawyer?”
“A black SUV. Your mother ordered it through her company. It pulled up to City Hall right after the ceremony. The driver said you’d be along later, that it was a surprise. Inside was a woman who introduced herself as the family attorney. With documents.”
Another pause, then in a hollow voice:
“I didn’t know anything about it. Are you sure?”
“Dan, I swear, Caroline, I had no idea. What car? What lawyer? I didn’t order anything like that.”
Caroline could hear the bewilderment in his voice, the shock. But was there a lie in there?
“Your mother ordered it,” Caroline repeated, “through Prima Consulting LLC. Her company.”
Dan was silent. Then, quietly, almost in a whisper:
“Oh my god. Mom.”
“She couldn’t have. She couldn’t have done that.”
“She could have,” Caroline said harshly. “And she did. Dan, are you in debt? Major debt with the business?”
The silence grew even heavier.
“How did you know?” Dan finally managed.
“That doesn’t matter. Answer the question.”
He sighed. A long, weary sigh.
“Yes. There are problems. Serious problems. I was going to tell you after the wedding. I didn’t want to ruin this day.”
“And your mother knew?”
“Of course she knew. She was trying to help me. She was looking for investors, suggesting different options, but I never thought… Caroline, I swear I didn’t know she planned this thing with the car.”
Caroline closed her eyes. Dan wasn’t lying. She could hear it in his voice. He didn’t know, but his mother knew. And she acted.
“Where are you now?” Dan asked.
“At a diner on the outskirts.”
“Send me the address. I’m coming right now. We’ll talk about everything, please.”
Caroline looked at her father. He gave a slight nod.
“Okay,” Caroline said. “Come. But come alone, without your mother.”
“Without my mother,” Dan repeated. “I promise.”
She hung up and looked at her father.
“He didn’t know,” Caroline said. “I’m sure of it. He didn’t know.”
“Maybe,” Robert conceded. “But his mother definitely knew and she acted with a clear purpose.”
Caroline nodded. 20 minutes later Dan’s car pulled up to the diner. He got out, looked around, and quickly came inside. He saw Caroline and stopped in his tracks. Then his gaze fell on the man sitting with her.
“Who is this?” Dan asked, approaching the table.
“My father,” Caroline replied. “He’s the one who warned me about the car.”
Dan stared at Robert.
“Your father? The one who…”
“Yes,” Caroline interrupted. “The one. He works as a dispatcher for the company that handled your mother’s order. He saw the request and realized it was a trap.”
Dan slowly sat down in a chair. His face was pale.
“I didn’t know,” he repeated. “I swear to you, Caroline, I didn’t know a thing.”
“But you’re in debt,” Caroline stated.
“Yes,” Dan admitted. “A million dollars. The bank is demanding repayment. I tried to negotiate a restructuring, but they refused. I have 6 months. If I don’t find the money, I’ll lose everything.”
