He Thought the Food Was Free, I Made Sure the Lesson Wasn’t Chapter 10

He Thought the Food Was Free, I Made Sure the Lesson Wasn’t Chapter 10

Derek saw I wasn’t budging. His composure snapped completely. He rolled up his sleeves and lunged at me. “You worthless bitch! You want to play hardball? I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Stop right there!”

Sergeant Miller’s voice cracked through the room. He stepped in front of Derek, blocking him cold.

“You’re going to throw hands with a police officer standing right here? You looking to spend a night in a cell? Or maybe longer?”

Derek froze, pinned by the sergeant’s authority. He was still seething. “She scammed us for half million dollars! And I’m the bad guy?”

Sergeant Miller didn’t blink. “Surveillance footage. Order logs. She warned you the items were expensive. You ordered them anyway. It’s all documented. You want to keep running your mouth?

Go ahead.”

“But right now, you’re in the wrong. Every step of the way. So pay what you owe. Otherwise, it’s willful refusal to pay. That means court costs, interest piling up, and depending on how far you push this-a night in a cell.”

Patricia went pale at the word cell. She clutched Derek’s arm, her voice wobbling. “Derek, don’t fight it anymore. Just pay. Please. I can’t watch you get locked up.”

Derek yanked his arm free. His face was grim. “Pay? With what? If I had money, do you think I’d still

be standing here arguing?”

He stopped. A light flickered behind his eyes. He turned to Patricia. “Mom. The house-it’s in your name, right? What if we put the house up as collateral? We can work out a payment plan, pay it off

over time.”

Patricia’s face tightened. She looked torn. “But that house is all your father left us. If you can’t pay this back, we’ll have nowhere to live.”

Derek waved it off without a second thought. “Of course I’ll pay it back. I’ll start working tomorrow. Real job. I’ll get it done fast. I swear.”

He didn’t even wait for her answer. He turned to Vincent. “I don’t have cash. But my mom owns a house. It’s worth something. Can you use that?”

Vincent nodded. “She signs a promissory note, puts the house up as collateral. Sets a payment schedule. You miss a payment, the house is mine. That’s how this works.”

Derek seized on it. Turned back to Patricia.

“You hear that, Mom? Just sign the papers and we’re out of here.”

Patricia stood there for a long moment. Then she nodded.

“Fine. I’ll sign. But Derek, you have to pay this back. You hear me? If you don’t, we’ll end up on the

street.”

Derek was already brushing her off.

“Yeah, yeah. I got it. You think I’d screw over my own family?”

Vincent’s men brought over paper and pens. Promissory note. Mortgage deed. They slid the

documents in front of Derek and Patricia.

“Read it carefully. If everything’s in order, sign and fingerprint.”

Derek flipped through the pages. Patricia leaned over his shoulder, reading along, muttering.

“Isn’t the interest a little high?”

Vincent answered evenly. “Standard rate. Keep up with the schedule, and you only pay principal plus normal interest. If you miss payments, the penalty doubles.”

Evan looked like he wanted to say something. But Derek was already pushing the pen into Patricia’s hand. She signed. Pressed her thumbprint onto the page.

Vincent collected the documents. Stepped aside.

The second the door was clear, Derek’s guests scattered like roaches. Sergeant Miller gave Derek a final warning about learning from his mistakes, then he and his officers left too. The restaurant fell

quiet.

The moment they were gone, Patricia rounded on me.

“You cold-hearted bitch, Claire! Look what you’ve done to this family! You and Evan are still married. You think you’re the only one walking away clean? You won’t have a single peaceful day.

I’ll make sure of it.”

Derek piled on.

“Damn right. We’re buried in debt because of you. As long as I’m in this family, your life is going to

be hell.”

I reached into my bag. Pulled out the papers I’d prepared. Dropped them in front of them.

“Save it. There is no ‘this family.’ Not for me. Not anymore.”