Chapter 4I Fed the Elderly Cheap, They Turned Ferocious

The people gathered around us didn't know the truth. They pulled out their phones, pointing them at me and whispering among themselves.

"How could anyone do something like that? Feeding spoiled food to seniors?"

"He looks respectable enough. How could he possibly do something like that?"

I huffed, suddenly regaining my composure as I looked at Margaret and Liam.

"Fine. Since you're claiming I served spoiled food, let's call the police and have the health department come here to collect samples and test them."

Uncertainty flashed in Liam's eyes the moment I mentioned the police and an official inspection. But with his pride on the line, he forced himself to stay tough and called the security guards.

"Get him out of here!" he barked. "Don't let him disrupt our business."

The guards escorted me out of the bank, but I wasn't worried in the slightest.

I had nothing to hide. We had receipts for every ingredient we'd purchased, and there were security cameras in the kitchen.

I thought that would be the end of it. At worst, I'd simply lose one unreasonable customer.

But when I returned to the kitchen, I was stunned by what I saw.

Seven or eight seniors were sitting on folding chairs outside, holding up a banner. Scrawled across it in crooked letters were the words "Heartless Kitchen Exploiting Seniors! Food Poisoning!"

The moment Margaret saw me, she started wailing and simply plopped herself down on the steps outside the kitchen.

"Oh, poor me! I paid to eat here, yet they fed us garbage."

She was holding up a dinner roll that had clearly been sitting around for who knew how long. It was covered in mold.

"Everyone, look!" she cried. "This is what Mateo served us. It's covered in mold! Do our lives mean nothing just because we're old?"

The other seniors immediately joined in. Some clutched their stomachs and pretended to be in pain, while others wiped away nonexistent tears.

"Exactly! The stew was basically just water with barely any chicken in it, and the vegetables were rotten. How is this a community kitchen? It's a scam that's putting people's lives at risk!"

It was lunchtime, so the commotion blocked pedestrians and other customers from entering. People gathered around, whispering and speculating.

The more people stopped to watch, the more worked up Margaret became.

"Don't go in!" she yelled, pointing at anyone trying to enter. "Whatever you do, don't eat there. It'll ruin your stomach! We all got sick from his food. We had to go to the hospital to get our stomachs pumped!"

I was about to speak when Agatha, one of the kitchen staff, came rushing out carrying a tray of freshly washed vegetables. She was trembling with anger.

"That's a lie!" she cried. "That dinner roll didn't even come from our kitchen! We served fresh bread today! And these vegetables were delivered this morning. How could they possibly be rotten?"

But her explanation was immediately drowned out by the seniors' even louder wailing and the banging of drums they'd brought with them.

Just then, Liam arrived by car. When he got out, he didn't try to stop Margaret and turned toward the crowd instead.

"Folks, I'm trained in finance, so I know how to read the numbers," he said, his voice laced with righteous indignation. "This kitchen claims to be a nonprofit, but it's really just taking advantage of government subsidies and feeding seniors the cheapest ingredients it can find while making a huge profit!

"Today, we're demanding answers. He needs to refund everyone's meal payments and cover their medical expenses!"

I glanced at Margaret's greedy expression, then at the seniors putting on an act while holding up the moldy dinner roll.

I felt sick.

"There won't be any need for explanations," I said, pushing past Liam.

I walked up to the highest step, facing the crowd and the seniors causing the scene.

"Everyone here has seen what's happened today. Since all of you believe my kitchen serves spoiled food, uses poor-quality ingredients, charges too much, and has even given people 'food poisoning'..."

I turned toward Agatha, her eyes red from anger, and the chef, William Keele.

"Bring out the books. Let's count today's earnings."

Then I turned back toward the crowd, letting my gaze sweep across all of them.

"Every customer account with a remaining balance, whether you've used it or not, will be refunded in full by the end of today. As of this moment, Brookdale Community Kitchen is officially closed."