Dad of 4 Living in Tent Gives Last $2 to Stranger at Gas Station, Wakes up Owning a Big Company — Story of the Day

A homeless and poor Brandon offers his last $2 to an elderly man in need at the gas station store and inherits his company the next day. Brandon thinks this is the start of a new life for his family.

Brandon clutched his paper cup with change as he shuffled into the gas station store. He was near an aisle when a loud voice distracted him. He saw a queue of angry shoppers waiting behind an elderly man who had difficulty hearing.

“I’m sorry, what did you say about the water being funny?” the elderly man asked the cashier.

“Money!” she groaned. “I said you don’t have enough money, sir!”

“Yes, it was a sunny day!” replied the man with a frown.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

“You need more cash! For the water!” A younger guy standing behind the man grabbed him by the shoulder and yelled into his ears.

Brandon noticed everything. He was tempted to step in, but he didn’t want to attract the shoppers’ ire. Meanwhile, the elderly man explained he didn’t have enough cash, asking if he could get a smaller bottle of water as he needed to take his pills.

“If you can’t afford to pay, you’ll have to go!” shouted the cashier.

“I can go?” He smiled and turned to leave, but the cashier snatched the water bottle from his hand. “Just get out, old man!” she hissed. “You’re way too much trouble!”

For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash

For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash

The elderly man requested that he needed to take his pills, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

Brandon had had enough. He marched to the cashier and offered to pay for the old guy.

“Have a heart, lady,” he said and emptied his cup on the counter. The woman looked at him in distaste before she counted the money.

“That’ll cover it,” she said, taking all the money, including his last $2. “Now step aside. You’re holding the line.”

Brandon abandoned his can of beans on the counter as he offered the water to the older man.

“Here you go, sir. I got you water,” he spoke slowly and clearly, ensuring the man could see his face if he needed to lip-read. And the man thanked him. They left the store together, and Brandon headed to his tent on the bare patch of ground adjacent to the station, but the man stopped him.

“Wait!”

Brandon turned around.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

“Why did you help me when you obviously needed the money?” asked the older man.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being homeless, sir,” said Brandon, “it’s that the world works when people are kind to each other.”

“But what are your kids going to eat? You left the beans on the counter.”

“We have the last of yesterday’s bread,” Brandon replied. “We’ll get by.”

The man walked away but with a frown. Brandon noticed he got in a gleaming SUV and wondered why a man like him couldn’t afford a bottle of water.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

The next day, while Brandon was dividing cold fries among his kids, a silver sedan pulled up near his tent. A man in a fancy suit approached.

“Morning, sir. Mr. Grives’s last wish was for me to deliver this to you,” he said, extending an envelope.

Brandon wiped his hands and took it. There was a letter inside.

“Dear sir,

Yesterday, you proved yourself to be a man of good character when you spent your last few dollars for me. Your kindness and belief in doing good for others have inspired me to repay your goodness with the greatest gift I can give you: my business.

My time in this world is coming to an end. I have recently become apprehensive about leaving my company to my son, as I’ve come to see that he is a selfish man with a heart of stone. It would greatly ease my conscience if you inherited the company instead. All I ask is that you ensure my son is taken care of and can continue to live a safe, comfortable life.”

“Is this a joke?” Brandon looked up at the man.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

The man produced a stack of printed papers and a pen. “Mr. Grives was quite serious. And the moment you sign these papers, it’ll be official.”

“But I just met the guy yesterday. And now he’s dead and leaving me everything?” Brandon asked as he studied the documents.

“I understand your concerns, sir, but these papers were drawn by the finest lawyers. All we need to do is fill in your name, and the lawyers will proceed with the rest.”

This was his chance to provide his kids, so Brandon signed it. Then, the man drove him and the children to their new home.

As they arrived, Brandon stared up at the massive mansion.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash

For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash

Brandon could barely believe it himself. But the moment he pushed the double doors open, he sensed something was wrong. The house was a mess—a table lay on its side in the hallway, and a closet had been toppled over.

Brandon dumped the luggage, ran after the car, and told the driver to call 911. A few hours later, he stood among slashed sofas and broken furniture, speaking to the cops.

“We’ve examined the entire house and found no sign of forced entry, sir,” the officer said. “This, combined with the fact that the security system appears to have been overridden using the correct code, suggests that whoever vandalized this place had a legitimate means of gaining entry.”

“Like a key? So, the person who did this just walked in here?”

“I’d suggest you change the locks, sir,” the officer nodded.

As the cops left, Brandon suspected the elderly man’s son.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

The next day, Mr. Grives’s secretary arrived early. She took Brandon shopping and got him cleaned up at a barber before taking him to the company. In the office that once belonged to Mr. Grives, Brandon was about to go through the files on the computer when the doors burst open.

“You must be Brandon!” A middle-aged man in a dark suit entered the office. “I’m Christopher, one of Mr. Grives’s former business partners, and I’m here to save you from a whole heap of trouble.”

“I’m sorry?” Brandon asked.

Christopher explained he handled the sales for one of Mr. Grives’s ‘specific’ businesses. Brandon quickly understood it was something illegal. He refused to continue it, but Christopher was having none of it.

“Listen up, you moron! Grives owed me $2 million for handling the illicit side of his business! You’re now responsible for that,” he snarled. “And if you don’t pay up, I’ll go to the police and tell them everything. Furthermore, as the company’s owner, you will be liable for all damages. So, I’ll be expecting my $2 million by Saturday.”

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

“What? This is extortion! You can’t be serious!” Brandon retorted.

“Yes, it is. And just in case you think I’m not deadly serious…” Christopher pushed back his suit jacket and placed his hand on the butt of a gun holstered at his side. “…rest assured that if you cross me, Brandon, I’ll make you disappear.”

Brandon said nothing and agreed to Christopher’s demands. But he wondered if Christopher was scamming him. So Brandon searched for any hints of this illicit side of the business.

By that evening, after reviewing the data from all the other departments, Brandon was convinced Christopher was lying. But then, he noticed the filing cabinet tucked into a corner of the room. Brandon unlocked it with the keys he’d found earlier on his desk. And the first thing he noticed was an old-fashioned file box tucked into the drawer.

Inside it was a ledger with entries written in some kind of shorthand, and Brandon realized Christopher wasn’t lying. In despair, he opened a drawer to find some bottles of scotch handy, and found nothing but a photo.

It showed Mr. Grives standing with…a younger guy. Brandon’s eyes bulged in horror when he realized how similar they looked. The young man was Christopher, Mr. Grives’s son!

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

Things started making sense to Brandon. He couldn’t believe a kind man like Mr. Grives would be involved in illegal business practices. So, most likely, Christopher was using his own shady dealing to blackmail him, Brandon reasoned.

A stroke of luck and a terrible twist that threatened to take it all away – everything was happening way too fast. Luckily, Brandon was not unfamiliar with the whirlwinds of the business world.

That Saturday, Brandon met Christopher in the underground parking lot but with a counteroffer.

“I’ve got to keep my word to your old man,” Brandon said, “so I’ll give you 49 percent of the company while I keep the remaining 51 percent. That’ll be enough for you to live lavishly, right? And I’ll reserve the right to manage the company like your father wanted.”

But Christopher refused. “I’m not a fool! I deserved all of it, not some token! Let’s talk when you come to your senses!” he hissed and left.

Brandon went back to the office. He decided to pay Christopher his $2 million and be done with this but found the company’s money was tied up in assets or allocated to monthly expenses. Brandon was helpless.

He returned home, dejected, where another trouble awaited him. As he opened the front door, he found his kids’ nanny tied to a chair and gagged.

“He took the kids! He said to tell you that this should be your wake-up call!” she cried as he freed her, and Brandon knew who she was talking about.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

Brandon called Christopher and agreed to hand over the company, begging him not to hurt the children. They decided to meet at noon. But Brandon also called the police, and in the next half an hour, he was sitting with an FBI agent.

“Just follow my instructions, and we’ll have your kids back…” Agent Bates assured him.

That noon, Christopher was chilling by the poolside of a hotel he’d rented out. He’d locked Brandon’s kids in a closet and dismissed all hotel staff except the manager, whom he had paid handsomely.

“Excuse me, sir,” the manager interrupted him. “You have a package.”

When Christopher checked the envelope, he grinned. He strode to his room and signed the paperwork he found inside the envelope. The company was finally his! Then, he freed Brandon’s children. “I’m sure a bunch of ragamuffins like you four can find your way. Now, get lost!”

]Christopher finished getting ready. Suddenly, he heard a click behind him. Although soft, Christopher instantly recognized the sound of a gun’s safety selector.

For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash

For illustration purposes only | Source: Unsplash

“FBI! Put your hands in the air! You’re under arrest.”

Meanwhile, Brandon held his children close on the sidewalk. Thanks to Agent Bates’s idea of putting a tracker in the documents, Christopher was caught.

Brandon took the children home, ready to make everything right. And when the FBI’s fraud division showed up with a warrant, he handed over the evidence—the copy of the company’s records and the ledger he’d found in his office—to the agents, knowing that by the time the investigation was over, he wouldn’t have a penny to his name. But he’d be free.

“Daddy, are we going to leave our home…just when Mommy died?” Kelly asked him.

Brandon got down on one knee and hugged his kids.

“Listen, you four, we’re going to be okay. You want to know why?”

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

For illustration purposes only | Source: Pexels

Kids looked at him earnestly and nodded.

“It’s because the most valuable thing we have is right here, in my arms. So long as we stick together, we’ll always be rich in the most important way: love.”

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This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life.

5 FAMOUS STARS WHO KEEP THEIR KIDS HIDDEN FROM THE PUBLIC – FIND OUT WHO

5 FAMOUS STARS WHO KEEP THEIR KIDS HIDDEN FROM THE PUBLIC – FIND OUT

Jamie Lee Curtis, Robert De Niro, Kate Hudson, and two other celebrities have children who prefer to stay out of the spotlight. These children rarely make public appearances, but a few photos of them exist.

While some famous parents enjoy sharing their children’s lives with the world, others have kids who like to keep things private. For example, Robert De Niro has biracial twin sons that many people don’t even know about. These kids prefer to stay out of the public eye, keeping their lives low-key. Here’s what we know about these rarely-seen celebrity children.

ROBERT DE NIRO’S LITTLE-KNOWN BIRACIAL TWIN SONS, JULIAN AND AARON
Robert De Niro, one of the most iconic actors, is a proud father of seven children: Drena, Raphael, Aaron, Julian, Elliot, Helen, and Gia. In 1976, he married singer Diahnne Abbott, and they had their first son, Raphael.

Though De Niro is a well-known figure, his twin sons, Julian and Aaron, have managed to stay out of the spotlight for most of their lives.

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Robert De Niro shared a sweet moment with his wife, Diahnne Abbott, on the set of the film *New York, New York* during a location shoot in Los Angeles on April 26, 1977. Abbott had a daughter, Drena, from a previous relationship, and De Niro adopted her before the couple separated in 1988.

In the mid-1990s, De Niro began dating African-American model Toukie Smith. Though the pair never married, they welcomed twin boys, Julian Kendrick and Aaron Henry, in October 1995 through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy. Despite their famous father, Julian and Aaron have remained largely out of the spotlight.

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Julian and Aaron, who turned 28 in March 2023, prefer to keep their lives private. Although they have attended red-carpet events with their parents as both children and adults, they generally stay out of the public eye and lead quiet lives.

When asked about his kids, De Niro expressed his love for them, saying, “I love my children, just being with them. [But] It’s not easy. When you have the good moments [though], you forget about the ones that weren’t good.” Despite the challenges, De Niro cherishes the time he spends with his children.

Luna García is one of Rossy de Palma’s two children. Rossy de Palma, a Spanish actress, was discovered in 1986 by famed director Pedro Almodóvar at a café in Madrid. She quickly became a recognizable face in Almodóvar’s films, appearing in iconic movies like *Law of Desire* (1987) and *Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown* (1988).

Despite her fame, Rossy has kept her family life relatively private, and her children, including Luna, are rarely seen in public.

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At the start of her acting career, Rossy de Palma faced harsh criticism from her home country’s top newspaper, being labeled as “ugly and strange.” Known for her unique look, de Palma has asymmetrical eyes and a prominent nose—her left eye is green, while her right is brighter and rounder.

Despite the comments about her appearance, Rossy embraced her distinctive features and made a bold statement in a 1994 interview, when she was 29. She confidently said, “Perhaps I’m very pretty to some people and very ugly for others. But that’s their problem, not mine.”

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KATE HUDSON’S SON, RYDER, PREFERS STAYING OUT OF THE LIMELIGHT

Kate Hudson became a mother at 23 when she welcomed her son, Ryder Russell, with her ex-husband, Chris Robinson. During an interview on “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” Hudson joked about feeling like a “teen mom” after Ryder was born. She explained that becoming a mom at such a young age made her feel like she was figuring out motherhood while still growing up herself.

Despite her early start, Hudson has embraced motherhood, raising Ryder while continuing her successful acting career.

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During the interview, Kate Hudson joked about feeling like she was 12 when she had Ryder, stating that in Hollywood, having a child at 23 seemed early. Along with Ryder, Hudson is also the mother of Bingham, from her relationship with ex-fiancé Matt Bellamy, and Rani Rose, her daughter with current fiancé Danny Fujikawa.

Balancing motherhood with her career and business ventures has been tough, but Hudson has managed it with help from her older children, especially Ryder. The family lives in the same house Hudson grew up in, which her mom, Goldie Hawn, and Kurt Russell bought in the 1970s. Hudson later purchased the house in 2015, combining it with a neighboring property to create a larger home.

Hudson shares a special bond with Ryder, who is now a young adult. She mentioned that having Ryder at 23 shaped their close relationship, although she still emphasizes good manners and gratitude. Despite being a “wild mum,” she and Ryder are very close, and he often shows love by doing things like making her breakfast in bed and caring for his siblings.

In September 2022, Ryder left for college on the East Coast, marking a big change for Hudson. She helped him shop for essentials and shared their preparations with her fans, calling him a “minimalist” when he refused to buy extra things. Though his departure was emotional, Hudson is proud and excited for his future.

Although it’s been hard to adjust to Ryder being away, Hudson stays in touch with him regularly, and they’ve already had emotional moments over the phone. As time goes on, they’re both committed to maintaining their bond, proving that distance only strengthens their connection.

JAMIE LEE CURTIS’ SECOND CHILD, RUBY, TRANSITIONED FROM A MAN TO A WOMAN

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“Perfect” actress Jamie Lee Curtis always dreamed of having kids. After marrying her husband, comedy director Christopher Guest, the couple faced years of heartbreak as they struggled with infertility. Despite trying, they couldn’t conceive, which led them to explore other ways to grow their family. Eventually, they decided to adopt, and Curtis has often spoken about how this experience shaped her perspective on motherhood and family.

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After trying everything and not succeeding, Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband, Christopher Guest, chose to adopt. Curtis shared that adoption was their path to becoming a complete family because they felt something was missing until they had a child.

Just two years into their marriage, Curtis and Guest welcomed their daughter through an open adoption in 1986, right after her birth. While they had planned to adopt Annie, their second child, Ruby (formerly Thomas), came unexpectedly.

VAL KILMER IS SUPER CLOSE TO HIS DAUGHTER, MERCEDES

American actor Val Kilmer became a Hollywood star with his role as Tom Kazansky in the 1986 film *Top Gun*. He is also well-known for his performances in other popular films such as *Tombstone*, *Batman Forever*, and *Heat*.

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Val Kilmer and his wife, Joanne Whalley, got married in 1988 after meeting on the set of the movie *Willow*. They also worked together in *Kill Me Again* a year after their marriage. In 1991, they welcomed their daughter, Mercedes, and then their son, Jack, was born in 1995. Although Kilmer and Whalley divorced in 1995, they stayed on good terms and continued to work together. Their love and commitment to their children remained strong despite the end of their marriage.

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