2026-09-21 01:31:02
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Chapter 73 Part 3
"Are you telling me how to do my job?" Margaret said, her voice jumping a full octave. "I've been cleaning since before you were born. You think you can lecture me about mopping? You can't even carry a plate without turning the floor into a salad bar."Kevin bit the inside of his cheek. His jaw worked back and forth. Inside his head, a voice screamed that this woman had mopped a high traffic zone during the busiest hour of the week and created a death trap. But outside his head, this woman was the boss's mother, and his job depended on keeping his mouth shut."I'll go back to the kitchen and prepare a new platter," he said, starting to stand."No you won't," Margaret said, stepping in front of him and blocking his path.Kevin froze."You just want to run back in there so the chef sees you without a plate and gives you something easier to carry," Margaret said, narrowing her eyes. "I know your type. Young, lazy, always looking for a shortcut. You probably dropped it on purpose so you c
Chapter 73 Part 2
It was a Friday evening, the busiest night the Lost City Bar had seen since opening. Every booth was full. The bar stools were packed three deep. Music pumped through the speakers and the noise of forty conversations blended into a wall of sound that vibrated in the floor tiles.Margaret had chosen this exact moment to mop.She rolled her bucket out from the supply closet, dunked the mop head into soapy water, and began dragging it across the floor directly between the kitchen doors and the main dining area."Excuse me, Mrs. Chen?" a passing bartender said, dodging the wet streak. "Maybe we should wait until closing to mop? It's kind of packed right now.""The floor is filthy," Margaret said, not looking up. "I'm not going to let customers walk through dirt. What kind of establishment do you think this is?"The bartender opened his mouth, decided his paycheck wasn't worth the argument, and walked away.Margaret mopped in long, aggressive strokes, leaving a gleaming, soaking wet trail
Chapter 73 Part 1
Claire stood behind the bar counter the next morning with her arms crossed and her face set in the kind of expression that made people take a step back before she even opened her mouth.Margaret sat on a barstool across from her, clutching her tea with both hands, her eyes darting between her daughter's face and the exit."From today," Claire said, her voice flat and cold as a frozen blade, "you are no longer in charge of purchasing."Margaret's grip tightened on the cup."What do you mean I'm not in charge?" she asked, her voice small but already carrying the first spark of defiance."I mean you don't touch receipts, you don't touch money, and you don't step foot inside a grocery store on behalf of this bar ever again," Claire said, each word landing like a nail being driven into wood."Then what am I supposed to do?" Margaret asked. "Just sit here and watch?""You'll clean," Claire said. "Mop the floors. Wipe the tables. Take out the trash. Five thousand dollars a month. Fixed salar
Chapter 72 Part 3
She read the first paragraph. Then the second. Then the third. Each sentence hit her like a brick thrown at close range. The article detailed everything. Margaret's week long spree of produce destruction. The biting. The peeling. The bean snapping. Derek's theatrical interview. Mr. Harris's counter presentation with CCTV footage. The crowd turning. The beatdown. The police hauling the entire crew to the precinct.Her name wasn't in the article. But her mother's name was. And her brother's. And the name of every thug who had been arrested.Claire crumpled the newspaper in both fists, the pages crunching like bones.She walked to the back of the bar where Derek sat slumped in a booth, an IV drip taped to his left arm, a bag of melted ice resting against his jaw. His face looked like a watercolor painting left in the rain. Purple, yellow, and red blended together across his cheeks, his forehead, and the bridge of his nose, which sat at an angle it had never sat before.Margaret sat acros
Chapter 72 Part 2
Derek was pulled to his feet by two officers. His leather jacket was torn at the shoulder. His nose was swollen sideways. One of his eyes was nearly shut.They loaded him into the back of the cruiser first. Margaret was placed beside him. The door closed with a heavy thud.The cruiser pulled away from the plaza, lights still spinning but sirens off. Inside, the backseat smelled like sweat and copper.Derek sat with his head tilted back against the seat, one hand holding a blood soaked tissue to his nose. Every breath came out in a wet, rattling wheeze.He didn't look at his mother for a long time."This is your fault," he finally said, his voice thick and nasal from the swelling.Margaret turned to him, her mascara streaked down both cheeks, her eyes still red and wild."My fault?" she said, her voice trembling. "I didn't ask you to bring those men. I didn't ask you to make a scene.""You came home screaming and crying about being assaulted," Derek said, each word pushing through the
Chapter 72 Part 1
Margaret's hands shook so badly she could barely hold her phone. She jabbed at the screen three times before her fingers found the right numbers."911, what's your emergency?" the operator said."They're killing my son!" Margaret screamed into the phone, her voice so high and raw it barely sounded human. "There's a riot at the supermarket on Fifth and Maple! People are beating him! He's bleeding! Please send someone now!""Ma'am, can you confirm the exact address?""I don't know the exact address!" Margaret shrieked. "It's the big supermarket! The one with my face on the posters! Please just come!"She dropped the phone to her side and pushed forward into the crowd, clawing at shoulders and backs, trying to reach Derek, who was still curled on the pavement in a tight ball with his arms wrapped around his head.The sirens came fast. Two cruisers, then a third, red and blue lights slicing through the evening air like knives.The moment the sound reached the plaza, the crowd began to shi
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