Chapter 3

Chloe froze for a second, caught off guard by my blunt words, before turning completely hysterical.

"How dare you insult me!

"He touched me! He traumatized me for life!

"You owe me emotional damages!"

Seeing her daughter join the fray, Brenda scrambled up from the floor like a revived zombie, instantly diving back into combat.

"Damn right! My daughter is an innocent, decent girl, and your filthy husband ruined her!

"This isn't over! We want two hundred thousand dollars!"

Two hundred thousand?

Just like that, right out of thin air.

These two were truly delusional gold-diggers.

David let out a harsh scoff and pointed toward the ceiling corner in the living room.

"You claim I assaulted you?

"There's a high-definition security camera right up there. Care to review the footage together?"

Chloe glanced nervously at the black dome on the ceiling, her eyes wavering for a fraction of a second.

But she quickly lifted her chin, putting on an arrogant smirk.

"Who gives a damn about your camera?

"I'll tell the internet you assaulted me! Public opinion will tear you apart!"

I knew exactly what her game was. She wanted to weaponize social media and cancel us.

If she wanted to play a high-stakes drama, I was more than happy to give her the full performance.

I gave David a subtle glance.

Understanding immediately, David pulled out his phone and began downloading the raw footage from the cloud storage.

I turned back to Brenda.

"Squatting here is pointless. The new homeowner will be here any minute."

Hearing that the property had been sold, Brenda’s shifty eyes spun in calculation.

She probably assumed the new buyer would be another polite pushover she could bully.

"You sold the place?

"We don't care! We're not stepping a foot out of here!

"Unless you take both of us to your new house and keep paying me thirty-five hundred a month!

"Otherwise, we squat here forever. We'll terrorize every tenant or buyer who walks through that door!"

What a vile pair of parasites.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Take you with us?

"I wouldn't want you tracking filth into my new home.

"People like you will spend your entire lives scraping pennies through cheap extortion.

"No wonder you're stuck doing menial work and renting basements."

Every word struck Brenda right where it hurt most.

Humiliated and blinded by rage, she lunged toward me with her hands outstretched, aiming to shove me down.

"You little bitch!"

I was already braced for it and took a clean step to the side.

Brenda caught only empty air. Losing her balance completely, she crashed hard onto the floorboards with a heavy thud.

She lay stunned for a second. Realizing she had fallen, she simply decided to stay down and play dead.

"She broke my bones! Call an ambulance! I need the ER!"

Chloe immediately whipped her phone around, aiming the lens right at Brenda’s sprawled body.

Her voice dropped into an agonizing, performative sob.

"Look at this, guys! The wealthy elite just knocked an elderly mother unconscious!

"Where is the justice in this country!"

Brenda groaned loudly from the floorboards.

"If I don't get two hundred thousand dollars today, nobody leaves this room!

"Medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages—I want every single cent!"

Two hundred thousand dollars.

She had probably never seen that much cash in her entire miserable life.

Staring at her greedy, contorted face, I felt nothing but utter disgust.

"Two hundred grand?

"You really have the nerve.

"Is your useless carcass even worth that much?"

Brenda rolled back and forth on the floor.

"A human life is on the line here!"

Right at that moment, a firm knock sounded against the open front door.

The new owner had arrived.

The sound of the knock caused Brenda to shoot up from the floor like lightning.

She had clearly prepped her sabotage routine beforehand.

She sprinted straight into the kitchen and re-emerged holding a plastic basin full of murky, foul-smelling liquid.

It was the dirty foot-soak water she had saved earlier, mixed with floating grease and wilted vegetable scraps.

She stationed herself right beside the entryway, her eyes gleeful with malice.

"The second that door opens, I'm soaking them!

"Let's see who dares to buy this cursed house!"

I checked my phone screen.

The real estate agent had just sent a text: The new buyer is stepping out of the elevator.

I looked at Brenda, my voice dropping to a warning chill.

"You'd better think twice.

"You throw that water, and your life as you know it is over."

Brenda let out a sinister sneer.

"Over? Your lives are the ones that are over!

"As long as I rot on this floor, this place is a stigmatized crime scene!

"Nobody will ever live here!"

The doorknob turned.

The new owner stepped through the threshold.

Timing her move, Brenda hoisted the basin with both hands and hurled the putrid liquid forward with all her might!

In that split second, I lunged forward and slammed my shoulder into her arm.

Splash!

Most of the filthy water crashed against the entryway wall, with only a few stray droplets splashing onto the newcomer’s pristine, tailored trouser cuff.

Brenda staggered backward from my shove, nearly tumbling over the console table.

She opened her mouth, ready to unleash a torrent of curses, but froze when she noticed the dead silence in the room.

Beside her, Chloe caught sight of the man's face. Her phone slipped through her fingers, nearly crashing to the floor.

"Mr.... Mr. Vance?"