Reborn to Ruin the Woman Who Destroyed My Family

2: 2 I forced the hatred back down and turned her down flat. "No." Something like shock flickered through Mercedes's eyes. She hadn't expected the soft-hearted me to be this firm. "The fact that there's no pay is exactly why I can't let Madge Sullivan come." "You're her mother, and you won't take the slightest responsibility for your own daughter." "Then my family sure can't take on that responsibility either." Mercedes's face darkened at once. "Sally Finch, what's that supposed to mean?" "After all these years as best friends, you won't lift a finger for one little favor?" I looked at her, my eyes cold, without a trace of warmth. "So you do remember we're best friends. If we're friends, we should be considerate of each other." "If you insist on forcing me into something, then we really aren't much of friends at all." That set Mercedes off on the spot. Her voice shot up, as if she'd been wronged beyond words. "Sally Finch, are you all right?" "You'd cut me off over something this trivial?" It was the middle of the dinner rush, and the grill restaurant was packed with customers. One prying stare after another settled on us. The moment Mercedes noticed, she slipped into performance mode. "Sally, I really don't understand…" The tip of her nose went red, and she even squeezed out two tears. "All I wanted was for my girl to get a little experience. It wouldn't cost you a single cent in wages." "Fine, you won't help. But do you have to break things off with me over it?" "Are ten-plus years of friendship really worth nothing to you?" That little speech swayed the onlookers in a heartbeat. "Oh my, this best friend is downright heartless, isn't she?" "Right? The girl isn't even asking for pay. It's nothing, really. Why make such an ugly scene?" "More than ten years of sisterhood, and she'd cut it off over a thing this small. That's cold and petty." "Look how pitiful the girl's mother is. She's asking for help in good faith and getting shot down in front of everyone." Mercedes pretended to wipe her tears, but her sidelong glance slid to me. There was a flicker of hard-to-catch smugness at the bottom of it. She was betting on exactly one thing, that I cared about saving face. As long as public opinion tipped her way, I'd cave in the end just to end the scene. I didn't panic. Instead I let out a soft little laugh. "Since everyone's watching anyway, let me lay it all out plainly." "There's no such thing as a free lunch." "The second she gets bumped or scraped in my shop, or gets into so much as a spat with anyone, the responsibility lands on me." "She's your daughter. You won't shoulder that risk yourself, so why dump it on my family?" At that, the buzz of the crowd dropped by more than half. Quite a few faces took on a thoughtful look. "You're lying!" Mercedes went white in an instant. "I only wanted my child to get some experience. How can you think so badly of people?" I held her gaze, my tone colder still. "Whether I'm reading too much into it, you know best in your own heart." "Mercedes, a favor is a favor, and risk is risk." "I'll say it right here, right now. Madge is never, ever setting foot in my shop." At that, Madge, who'd been waiting outside the door the whole time, came rushing in. She had just turned eighteen this year, her eyes red-rimmed, looking especially pitiful. "Aunt Sally, why won't you let me work at the shop?" "Do you really hate me that much?" It was this very harmless-looking face that had driven my father to his grave with a false charge on his name. I clenched my fist hard, just barely holding down the hatred surging up in me. "Yes, I really don't like you." "So the two of you can go now." Madge staggered back two steps, her tears falling harder. "Aunt Sally, what did I ever do wrong?" "When little Shelby Abbott's grades were slipping, I was the one who tutored her after school every day, on my own. Have you forgotten all that?" Her shoulders trembled faintly as she choked out the words: "I only wanted to come and work hard here." "The dirty, tiring jobs in the shop, I can do any of them." "Aunt Sally, please, just let me stay…"

3: 3 This tearful little performance had every heart in the room in her hand. "Oh, poor thing, she's such a sweet, well-behaved girl!" "Tutored the kid for free, and now she just wants a place to get some experience, and she gets shot down this cold?" "The girl's so sincere, she only wants to learn a little. That owner's got no heart at all." "And she came right out and said she hates kids. A child's feelings are simple. How's she supposed to swallow something like that?" Even the few customers who'd been on my side had a strange look in their eyes now. Beside them, Mercedes let a flicker of triumph slip through. She stepped up and wrapped an arm gently around Madge's shoulders. "Silly girl, stop begging. We won't force ourselves on people." Watching the two of them play off each other, mother and daughter, the anger shot straight up in me. Last semester my daughter's grades fell off a cliff. I'd already lined up a tutor. It was Mercedes who came knocking, asking to send Madge over every day to help. Back then I cooked something different every single day, laid out all kinds of fruit. Terrified of not treating Madge well enough. But a whole half a semester went by, and my daughter's grades didn't just fail to improve, they dropped even harder. Only after I pressed her again and again did my daughter quietly tell me the truth. This so-called free tutoring was a scam from start to finish. Every day Madge came to my house, she left little Shelby to grind through the practice problems on her own. While she sprawled on the couch playing video games. There was no tutoring at all. Furious and full of regret once I knew, I told Mercedes right then that Madge didn't need to come anymore. For the sake of all those years between us, I stuffed a thick red envelope of cash into Madge's hands. Saw the little princess off politely, all smiles. Gave Mercedes every bit of face. I thought that was the end of it. And yet here they were today, still shameless enough to milk it for sympathy. I looked at Madge and said coldly, "Are you sure you were seriously tutoring Shelby?" Madge's crying caught in her throat. "I've still got the full security footage from my study, you know." The moment I said it, Madge went white. Her mouth opened and closed, and she didn't dare get out another word. I let my face go cold. "If you don't want me airing your dirty little secret, get out. Now." Mercedes shot me a vicious glare, then slunk out. My dad had been standing at the back kitchen door, watching the whole thing. He came over to me and couldn't help asking under his breath, "Weren't you and Mercedes always close? How'd it turn into this today?" Looking at how unguarded my dad was, my nose stung, and the tears nearly spilled over. "It's nothing, Dad." "I just suddenly realized some people don't deserve our sincerity." I thought that had finally closed the book on the whole thing. But the next day at noon, right in the middle of the lunch rush, Madge actually showed up again. Like she knew the place inside out, she walked in and started clearing tables. She even started waiting on customers. The whole routine, smooth as anything. As if she'd already decided she was staff here. I strode over and demanded coldly, "Who said you could come? Wasn't I clear enough yesterday?" "We will never take you on. Leave, right now!" At the sound of my voice, Madge's hands jerked to a stop. The next second, her tears came down. "Aunt Sally, I, I came on my own…" Her shoulders trembled, and she looked at me carefully. "I don't want any pay. I just want to quietly get some experience here." "I promise I won't affect your business at all, I swear!" Before I could answer, she gripped the rag tighter and scrubbed the table even harder. "No." I stepped forward and took the rag straight out of her hand. "I'm asking you to leave. Right now!"

4: 4 But the words had barely left her mouth when one of the customers, who had no idea what was really going on, cut in. "Boss, don't you think that's enough?" "The poor girl's being so decent about it, and you're bullying her like this. That's a terrible attitude." "No sense of common decency at all. We won't dare eat here again if this is how you treat people!" The accusations came at me from every side. Watching it happen, I was shaking with anger. Just as I was about to explain, my father hurried over. "All right, all right, Sally, don't take it so hard." "Just let her stay and give it a try. It's not a big deal." I stared at him in disbelief, my voice climbing: "Dad!" I wanted to tell him she couldn't stay. This girl was poison. Keep her, and there'd be no end to the trouble. "Thank you, Uncle Myron!" Like a drowning girl grabbing a lifeline, Madge bowed to my father. "Don't you worry, I'll work hard! I won't slack off, I promise!" The customers around us all breathed easier at that. "Now that's more like it. Cut people some slack when you can." "Such a good girl. See, everybody's happy now." I closed my eyes, helpless, the powerlessness washing over me from head to foot. For the next two days, Madge was the picture of a well-behaved girl. She showed up early every morning. She threw herself at the dirty jobs, the exhausting ones, never once complaining. And her mouth was pure sugar, greeting every single customer. The regulars all praised how sweet she was. Even my father let his guard down. More than once he took me aside and muttered that I was too prejudiced against her. I said nothing the whole time. Then, the evening of the third day, another weekend. It was the grill restaurant's busiest peak. Every seat was taken. Every worker was on their feet, no time to breathe. My father stayed in the back kitchen prepping food, never stepping out once from start to finish. Only Madge, her eyes kept darting around. In the space of ten-odd minutes, she used running plates as an excuse to slip in and out of the back kitchen several times. Finally, the moment she walked into the back kitchen again, a scream tore through the air. "Ah!" The next second, Madge came bursting out of the back kitchen, her clothes torn. She stumbled to the doorway, tears pouring down. "Uncle Myron, he, he tried to grope me!" Right behind her, my father came out too, stammering to defend himself: "I didn't... I really didn't!" "I was working the whole time, I didn't do anything!" He'd been an honest man his entire life, never once slandered like this. But to everyone watching, his panic only looked like guilt. Madge cried harder, sobbing like her heart was breaking. "It was you!" "You grabbed my clothes just now, when there was nobody in the back kitchen, you tried to put your hands on me!" At that exact moment, Mercedes came charging out of nowhere. "Madge! My baby girl!" She swept the girl into her arms and threw back her head, wailing. "Sally Finch, damn you! Damn your whole family!" "I sent my child to work at your restaurant for free out of the kindness of my heart! I didn't ask for a cent in wages, I only wanted her to get some honest experience!" "And this is how you treat my daughter? Your father actually groped her!" "My girl is pure and innocent. What did she ever do to deserve this kind of shame?" Mother and daughter clung to each other, the very image of two people wronged beyond words. The tearful accusation lit a fire in everyone. "Oh my God! Is this for real?" "The old guy looks so decent, and he could do something like this?" "What an animal! The poor girl was helping out for free and this is what she gets!" "Somebody call the police! You can't let an old creep like this off the hook!" "Trash the place! We've got to get justice for that girl!" The shouts rose one after another. Exactly the same as the scene in my past life. Down to the smallest detail. But this time, instead of panicking, I laughed out loud. "Are you sure about that?" Madge's body went rigid, and she cried harder. "You think I'd joke about something like this?" "Aunt Sally, how can you be so cold-blooded, questioning me at a time like this..." Beside her, Mercedes screamed too: "Exactly!" "My daughter's a pure, innocent girl, why would she throw away her own reputation to make something up!" "Your family does something wrong, and now you're twisting the truth to bully us on top of it!" The onlookers' fury swelled. Someone had already clenched his fists and shoved forward a few steps. Clearly ready to smash the place apart. I gave a small nod, wearing a thoughtful look. "Oh really? Well, that's quite the coincidence." "These past couple of days we've been complying with the city health and sanitation inspection, so we set up an open-kitchen live-stream broadcast online, running in real time." "All day today, the back kitchen's been streaming live online the whole time!"