From Doormat to Doomsday Billionaire!

Chapter 20: $3500

[Sydvale City Hospital.]

Mr. Park finally came out of danger.

After hours of emergency treatment, the old man lay pale and exhausted on a hospital bed. His life was no longer at risk, and the family could finally ask the question that had been burning in all their heads.

How did a man in his sixties turn into as breeding bull overnight?

The doctor arrived with the blood test results.

“There is a significant concentration of a potent sexual stimulant in his bloodstream,” he said. “That is what caused the prolonged reaction.”

The Parks were stunned.

A stimulant?

Mr. Park never took supplements. He barely took a multivitamin.

Unless…

“The takeout!” Mrs. Park gasped.

Her face twisted with a fury so pure it almost made the room warm.

“Rhys! That bastard! I won’t let him get away with this!”

“Rhys?” Her son, Kang, frowned. “What does he have to do with it?”

Mrs. Park hesitated. Then, grudgingly, she told them the whole story. How Jason had taken Rhys’s food. Twice.

Kang didn’t even blink at the fact that his own son was a thief.

“He poisoned the meal!” he roared. “That son of a bitch! I’ll sue him. I’ll make him lose every cent he has!”

The three adults traded glances.

Something greedy flickered across all their faces at once.

If they could drag him into court, a slice of that money might come their way.

Kang grabbed his phone and started to dial the police.

***

Meanwhile, at that very moment, two uniformed officers were knocking on Rhys’s door.

When he opened it, there wasn’t any surprise on his face.

Of course not.

He had filed the report himself, hours ago, while the Parks were still waiting for the ambulance to leave the building.

“Mr. Darby?” one officer said. “You reported a theft?”

When they learned that the stolen item was a takeout order, both officers couldn’t help but smile.

“Young man, you can report it. But we’d suggest talking to property management first. If you find out who took it, you can speak to them directly. You’re neighbors. Some things are better handled privately.”

Rhys nodded calmly.

“That’s exactly what I did the first time.”

“I got the footage from property management. It was my neighbor’s grandson. I expected an apology, or at least an offer to pay me back. Instead, his family insulted me and threw me out.”

“Tonight I ordered another meal. And the same kid stole it again.”

The officers’ faces sharpened.

“That’s unacceptable.”

A kid had stolen from him once. The family had refused to make it right, mocked him for asking, and then let it happen again. No wonder he’d called the police.

“All right,” the older officer said. “We’ll go speak with them.”

Rhys smiled. “There’s more to this than a stolen dinner.”

“My takeout was a little… pricey.”

The officer shrugged. “How pricey could it be?”

“Thirty-five hundred dollars.”

The officer had just drank from a cup of water.

Pfft!

It sprayed out across the doorway.

He coughed three times. “Excuse me, how much?”

Rhys calmly pulled out the receipt and handed it over.

The officer stared at it.

$3,500.

It was real.

There was no law against buying an expensive dinner. If a man wanted to burn thirty-five hundred dollars on lobster, that was his right.

But now that the value involved was this high, the situation changed completely.

Rhys had prepared everything. The footage from property management. The receipt. The restaurant’s contact information.

The officers even visited the restaurant to verify. The charge was exactly what it looked like. Completely legitimate.

Since the person who took the food was a child, only seven or eight years old, criminal charges weren’t possible. But if the Parks reimbursed him, the matter could be settled.

***

Kang had just finished dialing when the doorbell rang.

What? Already?

Did the police somehow know?

The three Parks hurried to the entrance.

Two uniformed officers stood on the other side as soon as the door opened.

“Are you family members of the Parks?” Officer Liu asked.

The strange phrasing made Kang hesitate.

“I’m their son. We were just about to call you.”

“Call us?” Officer Liu raised an eyebrow. “You’re not the family of the child who took the takeout?”

“Let’s hear your side first.”

Mrs. Park stepped forward like a prosecutor.

She told the entire story with trembling indignation, ending with her certainty: Rhys had deliberately poisoned the food.

The two officers exchanged a look.

“So you’re claiming, that Mr. Darby poisoned his own dinner to harm your family?” Officer Liu repeated

“Exactly!” Mrs. Park said, with enormous confidence.

Officer Liu let out a small laugh.

“That claim is very unlikely to hold up. No prosecutor and no court would accept it without evidence. You’re welcome to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit. But if you sue Mr. Darby, you are also admitting that your grandson took his food.”

“Since the child is a minor, that would likely be treated as a compensation dispute, not a criminal case.”

The Parks were furious.

It was so obvious! Rhys had poisoned them! How could the police be so blind?

“Fine,” Kang’s wife said through gritted teeth. “We’ll pay for the meal. But Rhys also needs to compensate us for medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress.”

They had no choice. If they wanted Rhys to pay, they first had to admit that Jason had taken the food.

But that was fine.

How much could one meal possibly cost?

Officer Liu smiled.

“Good. Then we’re agreed on the amount.”

“The total is $3,500.”

The entire Park family sprayed the room in shock. What the fuck was that?