18 YEARS BEFORE

The man drove with a certain confidence and ease, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly, but not too tightly. He was focused on the road ahead, his eyes scanning the traffic around him, but not so much that he missed the subtle changes in the landscape passing by.

He adjusted his grip on the steering wheel as he shifted gears, the car smoothly transitioning from one speed to the next. His foot pressed down on the accelerator, and the car surged forward, the engine humming contentedly.

The man was in control, but not overly so. He took the curves of the road with a slight lean of his body, his eyes darting back and forth between the road ahead and the rearview mirror. He was aware of everything happening around him, but didn't let it distract him from the task at hand.

As they drove down the long, winding road, the man's son tugged playfully at the seatbelts running across his chest. The man smiled, a warm and genuine expression spreading across his face.

"I'll get you the figurine today," he said.

The boy beamed. "Really, Dad?"

"Yes," his father said.

"But that'll be after I see the boss. We'll head to the store right after that, okay?"

The car pulled over in front of a warehouse, and there were other cars parked on the other side, as well as a huge van.

"Wait here, son," his father said as he got out of the car, his hand clutching an envelope tightly.

"Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Dad," the boy said, watching as his father walked briskly towards the van.

He walked to the other side of the van, which the boy couldn't see. The boy watched as another car pulled up behind the van, and a middle-aged man was escorted out of the car. He recognized the man as his father's boss, and watched as the men disappeared into the building.

The boy was left alone in the car, eagerly awaiting his father's return.

The girl sat in the passenger seat of her father's car, her eyes fixated on the young boy sitting in the car next to her. She was intrigued by the innocence and playfulness in his eyes. As she watched him, he tugged playfully at the seatbelts running across his chest. She couldn't help but smile at his playful antics.

The boy, looked out of the window in the direction of the building, the his eyes strolled over to the boss's car. He saw large doe eyes staring back at him from the car. The girl smiled at him and he quickly looked away shyly.

However, when he looked back, he saw that she was still staring at him with a curious expression on her face.

He suddenly heard a loud and jarring sound that made him jump in his seat. It was a gunshot - he had heard it before in movies and on television, but never in real life. The sound echoed and reverberated through the warehouse and surrounding buildings, bouncing off the walls and intensifying with each passing moment.

The boy's heart raced with fear and his body tensed up, unsure of what was happening. The sudden noise seemed to drown out all other sounds, and he could feel his eardrums vibrating with the force of the shot.

The echoes of the gunshot eventually died down, but the boy was left with a ringing in his ears. He looked around nervously, trying to assess the situation. The other cars in the area had their doors and windows shut tight, and there was no movement or sound coming from any of them. It seemed like everyone was waiting with bated breath to see what would happen next.

As the commotion inside the warehouse continued, the young boy sat in the passenger seat of the car, watching as people rushed in and out of the building. His eyes were fixed on the entrance, hoping to catch a glimpse of his father. The boy fidgeted in his seat, his heart pounding with worry and anticipation.

Then, the boy saw the paramedics arrive with a stretcher, and his heart sank. He knew that something terrible had happened. His eyes scanned the crowd of people, desperately searching for his father. He saw the stretcher being wheeled towards the entrance, and his heart felt like it was going to stop. The boy watched, paralyzed with fear, as the paramedics rushed inside the building.

Finally, the boy saw his father's shoes sticking out from under a white sheet on the stretcher. His heart raced with a mixture of fear and relief. Fear for the possibility that his father was hurt, and relief that he was still alive. The boy's eyes filled with tears, and he swallowed hard as he tried to hold back his emotions.

"Stay here, son," his father's voice echoed in his head.

As the paramedics wheeled the stretcher towards the ambulance, the boy felt a strong urge to get out of the car. He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door, ignoring the noise around him.

"Dad! Dad!" He ran frantically toward the stretcher.

Some men held him back while he desperately struggled to break free, tears streaming down his face.

"Son, you need to step back."

The boy was in a state of shock, tears streaming down his face, as he pointed towards the stretcher.

The men tried to hold off the boy, but he struggled, desperate to reach his father.

He saw the boss coming out of the building with a gun in his hand and seethed with anger.

The boy lunged at the boss, but he was held back by the men who had been trying to restrain him earlier.

"Let me go!" he shouted.

They didn't let go of him, instead his wasade to watch as the boss got into his car and was driven away.