Girl Keeps Losing Lunch Money Until Dad Catches Neighbor

This Ends Now

James was furious as he stormed into his office. For the last few weeks, his neighbor had been acting unfairly toward his young daughter, and he couldn’t let him get away with it any longer.

He clutched his phone in his hand, dialing the three-digit number

The old man had messed with the wrong family. With his laptop in hand, he waited for someone to answer the phone. “This ends now,” He muttered to himself. 

He Waited 

As soon as James woke up that morning, he rushed out of bed and made his way to the kitchen. He had serious business to attend to, but first, he had to fix himself a cup of coffee. 

With a cup in hand, he slowly made his way to a nearby window and glanced out of it.

From where he was standing, he could see his neighbor’s front yard. Now, all he had to do was wait.

Causing Trouble 

Before long, he watched as Mr. Tolhurt left his house. He grabbed his hosepipe and began watering his garden, just like he did every other morning.

From where James was standing, he could hear his wife and daughter getting ready for the day.

There was a reason why James decided to get up so early that morning. You see, his neighbor had been causing some trouble, and James was desperate to get behind the truth of the matter.

He Knew Better

The old man went about his business in his yard, seemingly keeping to himself. But James knew better.

Mr. Tolhurst was just waiting for his daughter to step out of their front door. 

For the last few weeks, his daughter was coming home from school, starving. Every day, James would give her $10 for a nice school lunch, but it appeared that the money was going elsewhere. James suspected that the neighbor had something to do with it.

On Her Way

James turned around when he heard his daughter behind him. He handed her the $10 note as usual before wrapping her in a tight hug.

Then he watched as his daughter left through the front door. 

She usually took the bus to school, and he suspected that the money was going missing on her way to the bus stop. As soon as the door shut behind her, James got down to business.

The Footage

He placed his cup down in the kitchen and made his way to the lounge. Sitting down on the couch, he retrieved his laptop from the coffee table and started it up. 

He wanted to look at the footage while it was happening. Something strange had been happening to his daughter, and he needed to know what was going on.

As soon as the laptop turned on, he opened the footage. 

He Saw It

He watched with careful eyes as his young daughter walked down the front porch steps and toward Mr. Tolhurt who was still watering his garden.

The old man turned around to face the girl, quickly dropping his hosepipe on the floor as he spoke to her.

James couldn’t hear a thing, but he watched as the little girl dug through one of her pockets and retrieved the money. Then, he watched it happen. 

The Youngs

When James Young and his wife, Christine, welcomed their baby daughter into the world, everything changed.

Packing up their busy lives in New York City, they decided to move to the suburbs of Clifton, New Jersey.

Lily, their daughter, was the best thing that ever happened to them. James had never experienced the kind of love he had for his daughter, and she always came first.

New Couple

Life in the suburbs was simple. They fit right in and became good friends with their neighbors.

For the next few years, everything seemed to run smoothly. Lily grew up fast, and her parents couldn’t be more proud of her.

But something strange happened just a few weeks after a new couple moved into their neighborhood. Mr. and Mrs. Tulburt moved in right next door to the Youngs, and at first, they seemed nice. 

Lunch Money

Lily was eight years old at this point and had just begun attending a new school.

James and Christine both had demanding careers which meant that they didn’t have a lot of time in the mornings. 

For this reason, they decided to give Lily lunch money every day. At first, this worked well, but before long, James noticed something.

Picking Her Up

It all started one Wednesday afternoon. James had finished work early and decided to pick his daughter up from school.

She was excited to see her dad’s big truck and hopped right in.

He greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and asked how her day was.”Good, but I’m so hungry,” She said, rubbing her stomach. He didn’t think much of it until they got home.

A Big Lunch

Once they were home from school, Lily dove into the refrigerator while James made her a sandwich.

That afternoon, she ate an apple, an entire sandwich, and a bag of chips. This surprised James, Lily wasn’t usually the type to eat that much. 

“Oh my goodness,” James laughed, “Did you have lunch at school today?” He was utterly confused, but when she shook her head, his face fell.

Someone Took It

“Did Mom not give you lunch money this morning?” He asked. “She did, but someone took it,”

Lily shrugged innocently, but she didn’t bother explaining the situation to her father.

Confused, he asked his daughter what had happened, but when he asked her who had taken the money, she said she didn’t know. He assumed she had lost it somewhere. But when it happened again the following day, he grew suspicious. 

Starving

Once again, Lily complained of being hungry as soon as she got home. When James asked about it again, it was the same story.

“Someone took it.” But she still refused to tell her father who had taken the money.

This continued for the next week. Every day, his daughter would come home from school starving, and she wouldn’t tell him where the money was going. 

The First Clue

But when this continued into the second week, he knew that he had to investigate the situation further.

The following Tuesday, he planned to call her school and ask what was going on, but that morning, he received his first clue. 

He had woken up earlier than usual, and as he got out of bed, he looked through the window, watching his daughter as she left the house. But his gentle smile fell when he noticed their neighbor, Mr. Tolhurts. 

Didn’t Feel Right

The old man spent the mornings watering his garden, and as soon as the girl stepped out of the front door, he turned to her.

James watched with sleepy, blurry vision as his daughter approached Mr. Tolhurst. What on earth was going on?

He watched for a second longer until he noticed a small exchange between the two. His daughter handed the man something, but he couldn’t see what it was from where he was standing. Something didn’t feel right about the situation. 

An Interaction

The following morning, he woke up early once again. But this time it was for a specific reason. He wanted to see if the same thing would happen again.

From his bedroom window, he watched his daughter interact with the man.

That afternoon, he asked his daughter about the situation, but as soon as he mentioned the neighbor’s name, his daughter clammed up. He now suspected that the old man had something to do with it.

A Plan

James was left utterly confused by the situation. He wanted to ask the old man what was going on, but he didn’t trust him to tell the truth.

He had to find the answer on his own. He thought about it for a good day or two, but eventually, he thought of the perfect plan.

Grabbing his coat, the concerned father headed for his truck. Someone suspicious was going on right below his nose, and he was going to crack this case.

A Hidden Camera

When he returned from the store, he pulled the small camera from its box. “This will have to do for now,” He mumbled to himself before grabbing his toolbox.

He watched Mr. Tolhurst’s home, making sure that no one was watching him.

It took about half an hour, but by the end, the small camera was hidden expertly among the bushes, and he had the perfect view of the man’s front yard. He would have to wait until the next morning to finally see what was going on. 

The Next Morning

When he woke up the next morning, he poured himself his usual cup of coffee and stood by the window, waiting for the old man to step out of his front door. 

Like every other morning, the old man left his house at 7 a.m. and began watering his small garden.

Christine was getting Lily ready for school while James waited.

Ready For School

Before long, Christine and Lily came running down the stairs. The little girl grabbed her coat as James pulled the $10 note from his pocket.

Handing it to his daughter, he greeted her with a hug and watched her step out of the front door. 

As the door shut behind her, he placed his cup down and quickly made his way to the lounge. Sitting down on the couch, he retrieved his laptop from the coffee table and started it up. 

He Watched

His laptop was already open on the footage. He could see exactly what was going on outside.

He watched with careful eyes as Lily walked down the front porch steps and toward Mr. Tolhurt who was still watering his garden.

The old man turned around to face the girl, quickly dropping his hosepipe on the floor as he spoke to her. James couldn’t hear a thing, but he watched as the little girl dug inside her pocket and retrieved the money. Then, he watched it happen. 

The Exchange

The old man glanced around them, making sure that no one was watching as the little girl placed the $10 bill in his hand.

He nodded and slipped it into one of his pockets before turning away from her.

Lily then turned around and walked off, making her way to the bus stop. James watched with wide eyes, his blood starting to boil. 

Unbelievable

He couldn’t believe his eyes. The old man was taking money from his daughter!

He was taking advantage of the fact that she was young and didn’t know any better. Her parents had always told her to listen to her elders, and that was exactly what she was doing. 

James couldn’t believe that the man would stoop so low. He had to do something about this immediately. 

Unfair

James was furious as he stormed into his office. For the last few weeks, his neighbor had been acting unfairly toward his young daughter, and he couldn’t let him get away with it any longer.

He clutched his phone in his hand, quickly dialing the three-digit number

He had messed with the wrong family. With his laptop in his hand, he waited for someone to answer the phone. “This ends now,” He muttered to himself. 

Reporting Him

“911, what is your emergency?” He heard over the phone. He was ready to tell them what was going on.

He wanted someone to come out and confront the old man for stealing from his daughter. He wanted to ask an officer to trail his neighbor, but then he saw it.

Looking at his laptop screen, he watched as the old man began walking from his front yard to James’s front door. Then he heard the knock.

Mr. Tolhurst

In a fit of rage, he decided to hang up and confront the man head-on. He placed his phone and laptop on his desk and headed for the door. 

When he swung it open, his face was red with anger. He was about to start screaming at the man but stopped when he extended a hand and opened his fist.

There, in the palm of Mr. Tolhurst’s hand, was a stack of $10 notes.

She Heard Something

“Good morning, Mr. Young. My apologies for bothering you so early in the morning.

I’ve been meaning to swing by for some days now, but I haven’t gotten the chance until now,” The old man began.

James was beyond confused as he hesitantly took the money from the old man’s hand. “I think your daughter might’ve heard a conversation that she shouldn’t have.”

An Explanation

“You see, while she was playing in the front yard the other day, she heard me speaking to my son.

We were discussing my wife. She was diagnosed with Alzheimers a few weeks ago,” The old man spoke in a shaky voice. 

“I mentioned to my son that money was tight, given that we’ve had to pay for all kinds of treatments. But anyway, your daughter has been coming up to me every morning and handing me these. I saved them all to bring them back to you. I’m sorry it took me this long, things at home have been tough at home.”

It All Made Sense

James was speechless as he looked at the frail old man. He couldn’t believe that he had misjudged the situation so poorly. All along, his little girl was trying to help the man and his ill wife.  

James thanked the old man, and that afternoon, he had a chat with his daughter and explained the situation to her. He told her that the old man’s family was helping him financially and that she no longer had to worry about giving him her lunch money. The problem was finally solved, and James was so proud of his daughter’s generosity. 

Disclaimer: To protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.