Chapter 4The $5 Wonton

My stomach dropped. I frowned.

Susan shot me a triumphant look, then put on a tearful voice.

“Honey, my restaurant got smashed! This guy came in, he was totally crazy, said he was going to buy the whole place just to smash it!”

“Who?! Who would dare! Mom, you wait, I’m coming over right now!”

“It’s some service worker from the KFC next door. He even said he was your boyfriend!”

Then, a man’s low voice came from the phone. “Jess, what’s wrong? Someone messing with your mom?”

My blood went cold.

I knew that voice. It was Leo Shang. Jessica’s ex.

When we first started dating, I found a bunch of saved voice memos in her phone from a strange guy. It was a bucket of ice water on our new relationship. I froze her credit cards and we fought.

She kneeled outside my apartment for three days in the rain until she collapsed with a fever. I finally caved and let her in.

She cried, explaining he was just an ex, that they were done, she’d just forgotten to delete the messages. Her phone was clean otherwise. She begged, and I forgave her.

But I never forgot that voice.

And the man on the phone with her was Leo.

She had been lying to me. She was cheating on me.

My mind went blank. I stalked forward and snatched the phone from Susan’s hand.

“Jessica, you dare cheat on me?”

The line went dead. She’d hung up.

Susan tried to get her phone back, but I was so furious I just shoved her. She stumbled and fell, and the bracelet on her wrist hit the tile floor and shattered.

She let out a piercing scream.

“My bracelet! You broke my bracelet!”

“You little bastard! That was a gift from my son-in-law!”

She scrambled up and lunged at me, raking her nails across my face and pulling my hair.

My scalp and cheek were on fire. I wasn't going to just take it. I kicked her hard in the stomach.

The crowd surged forward to pull us apart.

I collapsed onto the floor, the anger, humiliation, and betrayal hitting me all at once. I was exhausted, starving, and now I’d been insulted, cheated on, and assaulted.

I pulled out my phone and sent a text to my brother, Damien.

[Bro, someone’s beating me up. Help.]

His reply was instant.

[Address.]

He was supposed to be slammed with work. That’s why I had to do this stupid KFC bet in the first place. How was he replying so fast?

The wave of self-pity got stronger. I sent him the address, along with a picture of my scratched face.

[? On my way.]

I put my phone away and took a tissue from a bystander.

“Kid, you’re just a worker, you can’t win this. Just apologize.”

Before I could answer, Susan shrieked again. “Apologize? I’m not accepting an apology!”

She stalked over to me, looking down. “You smashed my store. You broke my bracelet. You’re not leaving. When my daughter gets here, she’s going to teach you how to be a human being!”

I just laughed. “Your bracelet? You mean the one with the 'S.Z.Y.' engraving on the inside, from the master carver Fang?”

Susan frowned. “How did you know that?”

“Because your daughter begged me for it last week, as a birthday present for her mother!”

Susan paused, then sneered. “You just saw the engraving on the broken pieces. Nice try. You really want to be the Gu family heir, don't you? Look at yourself. You’re not worthy.”

I was done talking. My brother would be here soon.

A car screeched to a halt outside. It was my family's Maybach.

But before I could stand, Susan was already rushing to the door.

A man in an expensive designer suit stepped out. With him, a woman carrying a Birkin.

It was Jessica and Leo.

Susan was crying. “Honey! Son-in-law! You’re finally here!”

She held up the broken bracelet. “I’m sorry, Jessica, the store was smashed, and this guy attacked me... he broke the bracelet you gave me…”

Leo put his arm around Susan. “It’s okay, Mom. I’ll just buy you a new one.”

Jessica’s eyes scanned the room, landing on me. She stormed over.

“Who did this? I’m going to skin them alive!”

Susan pointed at me, still sitting on the floor. The crowd parted.

“It was him! That little bastard attacked me!”

The moment Jessica saw me, her face went white.