Aunt Vera swept me up in a tight hug as I exited the factory, which was more than surprising. There were squad cars surrounding the factory at this point with armed men taking aim at the factory door. As Vernon McMasters exited the building, he glared at my Aunt Vera, knowing that she and my uncle had finally set him up.
My uncle exited the building right behind McMasters and was, along with Vernon, put into handcuffs. “I’m sorry!” he yelled at my parents, “It was never my choice! I did what I had to do to protect my family!”
Aunt Vera informed me that McMasters was blackmailing my uncle with the safety of his family. McMasters was angry that he never got that raise from my father and he approached my uncle with a plot to steal my father’s newest and most valuable recipe to date. My uncle, being desperate for money agreed, not knowing that McMasters would become more greedy as time passed (apparently splitting the profit 50/50 was too generous) and he begin to threaten the safety of my Aunt Vera and cousins. He forced my uncle into abducting my parents and holding them hostage in exchange for the safety of my aunt and cousins.
My uncle kept that picture in his sweettarts because of his guilt for what he had done; he and my father had been very close in childhood and, until Vernon McMasters became involved, in competition too.
But it’s over now. My parents said they won’t press charges against my uncle; my father understood the situation more than anyone could have expected. With Vernon McMasters safely behind bars, my uncle and father decided to open a new factory as partners in the candy-making business.
The End!
