Chapter 202 The Name Behind the Threat
+8 Pearls
Still, just like Maia had said, these guys didn’t seem like decent people. To avoid an even bigger loss, Caroline forced herself to swallow her anger and asked directly, “All right, how much do you want? Just say it.”
It was lunchtime, the restaurant’s busiest hour. All she wanted was to get these guys out of there as fast as possible.
The group exchanged subtle glances, their eyes lighting up with quiet excitement.
After a moment, the blond thug spoke up. “Okay, we won’t make this a big deal. Just give us 50,000 dollars, ten grand each for the five of us.”
Maia exploded. “Fifty thousand?! Why don’t you just rob a bank while you’re at it!”
Caroline didn’t want things to escalate into a shouting match. This was her restaurant, and any scene would hurt her business.
Caroline shot her a look, signaling her to stay calm.
Then she turned back to the blond thug, her gaze steady. “We both know exactly how that cockroach got there. But I’m not looking to argue. I’ll give you 30 dollars, enough to grab a decent meal somewhere else.”
As she spoke, she reached into her pocket and pulled out 30 dollars, placing it on the table.
The thugs‘ faces instantly darkened. The blond one slammed his hand on the table, furious. “You bitch! You think we’re beggars?! You either pay the 50,000 dollars, or you can kiss this place goodbye!”
They didn’t care whether she paid or not, because the restaurant was going down either way. But before that, they were going to squeeze something out of her.
After all, they had powerful people backing them. What was there to be afraid of?
Caroline didn’t flinch. “You want 50,000? Sure,” she said, calmly unlocking her phone. “Let’s call the cops. and see if they think you deserve it.”
At the word police, one of the thugs visibly panicked. He tugged on the blond thug’s sleeve and whispered, “Maybe we should let it go. If the cops come, this could get bad.”
They’d pulled this kind of scam plenty of timès before–extortion, threats, even assault. If the police dug into their past, they’d be looking at real jail time.
The blond thug started feeling nervous, too, though he tried to keep up his tough guy act. “You better think this through. If the cops show up and make a scene, word will get out that your restaurant has hygiene issues. That there were cockroaches in the food. Then no one will want to eat here.”
Caroline stayed calm. “That actually sounds great. No customers means I finally get to rest.” She deliberately lowered her phone so it was in the blond thug’s line of sight, then hit the call button to dial the police.
The moment he realized she was/serious, he panicked.
He shot to his feet, snatched the 30 dollars off the table, and stormed out. “You bitch! You just wait!” he shouted as he left.
Now that the cops were on their way, it was too late for him to trash the place.
Chapter 202 The Name Behind the Threat
The group slipped out, tails between their legs.
48 Pean
Maia watched them go, still uneasy. “Caroline … I don’t think they’re done with us.”
The call to the police hadn’t connected yet, so Caroline hung up Immediately and slipped her phone back
step at into her pocket. “We’ll deal with it if they come back, one a time,” she said.
The restaurant was a mess, several tables hadn’t been cleared. Caroline joined Maia in cleaning up.
While clearing one of the tables by the wall, Caroline caught a faint voice coming from just outside the window. It was the blond thug again. “She’s tougher than she looks… not easy to push around.”
Caroline froze, her hands still holding a stack of dishes. She leaned in closer to the window. Another thug’s voice replied, “Maybe we stop trying to squeeze money outta her. Let’s just come back tonight and trash the place. The boss already paid us enough anyway.”
Caroline’s heart skipped.
So that was it, these thugs hadn’t just wandered in looking for trouble. They were sent by someone. Someone wanted her restaurant destroyed.
She hadn’t wronged anyone, no old grudges, no recent conflicts. So who could it be?
Just as the question ran through her mind, she heard the blond thug’s voice again from outside the window. “You’re right. Mr. Grayson’s been generous with us, we can’t let him down.”
Mr. Grayson … Linden!
It was him.
Everything suddenly clicked. Alaina and Liam had shown up trying to convince her to expand the restaurant, and now this?
Of course. It had to be Alaina and Helen’s idea. Otherwise, what reason would Linden have to target
her?
But then she remembered what the thugs had said about coming back that night to trash the place. Panic started creeping in.
This restaurant was built with every penny she’d saved. She couldn’t let it be destroyed like this.
No. She had to go talk to Linden face–to–face. He might be unreliable, but he wasn’t heartless.
Without wasting time, Caroline pulled out her phone and called Teresa. “Teresa, is Linden around? I need to talk to him about something.”
Teresa had always been kind to her, and Caroline didn’t want to drag her into this just yet, she didn’t want to put her in an awkward position.
Teresa’s cheerful voice came through the phone. “He’s not home right now, but he’s free. I’ll have him get in touch with you.”
Then, remembering they didn’t have each other’s contact info yet, she added, “I’ll send him your number, keep an eye out.”
