Chapter 5
563words
They handed me a receipt, and it was a high amount. Nobody knew how many people they had to borrow money from just to leave the restaurant that night.
Still, who invited someone to dinner and then demanded they pay? I dusted off my clothes and got up to leave.
One of them stopped me. "Think carefully. It's not worth ruining your image over this little bit of money."
The sight of his twitching mouth made my stomach churn. "And how exactly will this ruin me?"
He rubbed his hands together, then showed me a photo on his phone. "You go here, don't you?"
Damn Sydney and her peculiar way of setting me up. She had actually told them about our college.
"And?"
Seeing the shift in my expression, they showed me another photo. "Look at yourself."
In the photo, my face was flushed. One look at it, and it was hard not to let one's imagination run wild. "What do you think would happen if we posted this on your college forum?"
At that moment, they were no different than rats crawling out of a sewer, filthy and disgusting.
"What do you want, for you to leave me alone?"
The tears in my eyes clearly gave them a twisted sense of satisfaction. Good thing I had taken a few acting classes back then. Otherwise, I wouldn't even know how to put on this act now.
"It's simple. Either you pay ten times this bill or…" He paused, his smile turning lecherous. "We each take a turn with you."
His words sent them all into fits of laughter.
"Are you done?" I asked, raising my phone, which displayed an ongoing recording. "I've recorded everything you said. What do you think the police will say if I play it for them?"
Within seconds, their expressions dropped. Some even lunged forward, trying to hit me. "You bitch! How dare you record us!"
Little did they know, the best was yet to come. I then played them a video, where they were all carrying the unconscious Sydney to do the unthinkable.
One tried to snatch my phone away. "Delete that!"
Did they think I was stupid enough to reveal my trump card just like that? I pointed at the surveillance camera around the corner. "Look over there."
"You… That's…" he stuttered, finger jabbing at me, but too pissed to form a full sentence.
One of the slightly older guys stepped forward. "What do you want, for you to leave us alone?"
That sounded familiar, didn't it?
"First, delete every single photo. No backups," I said sternly.
"Second, if I hear about any of you harassing anyone again, I won't let it slide as long as I'm still working at this factory. And lastly… Wait for my instruction. I'll tell you when the time comes. Can you do that?"
At this point, they had no choice but to give in, nodding in agreement.
Oh, Sydney. What did she think would happen when that carefully crafted innocent image of hers was exposed?
"Chloe, come home quickly! I have something to tell you!"
What was going on? It had only been a few days of peace. Was she already up to no good again?
