Chapter 1

My car got rear-ended by a reckless bike.

Seeing that the rider looked pretty young, I offered to settle it for 200 bucks, just to teach her a lesson.

But she whipped out her phone and started livestreaming the whole thing.

She shouted, "What a cheapskate, are you that desperate for cash? That old Passat of yours, and you want 200 bucks just for a little bump?

"You braked way too hard. You should pay for my hospital bills and the money I lost from missing work."

Watching this girl get all up in my face, trying to get her followers to dig up dirt on me, I couldn't help but chuckle.

If 200 bucks was too much, then 60 million it was.

*****

The girl shouted, "Guys, you be the judge. I was just riding my bike like normal, and she slammed on the brakes out of nowhere, without any warning. How is it my fault I crashed into her?"

She stuck her phone right up in my face and said, "This is the driver, everyone. She acts like the street is her own living room, comes and goes as she pleases.

"Any internet sleuths out there who can dig up her info? I bet she's always pulling this kind of scam."

Seeing her get all aggressive like that, my expression turned cold.

With that lunchbox and thermos in her canvas bag, she looked like a fresh grad just starting her first job.

I didn't want to make things hard for her, so I offered to settle it for 200 bucks, just to teach her a lesson.

But instead, she started livestreaming, calling me a scammer in front of everyone.

I said, "Hey, kid, my car might not be fancy, but getting the paint fixed is gonna cost at least a few hundred bucks."

The girl shot back, "Do you think I'm stupid? You think you're driving some luxury car or something?

"Everyone can see it's just an old Passat from over a decade ago. You can pick one up secondhand for over 3 thousand. A few hundred bucks? Get real."

The accident was backing up traffic, and commuters were getting cranky.

Someone called out, "Come on, that car's not worth much anyway. Just use a touch-up pen, that'll do the trick. It's only a few bucks!"

Another sneered, "Is she acting like her car's some kind of family treasure? Scratches are just part of driving. And bikes aren't cheap these days either. You're lucky she's not asking you to pay for her bike."

Someone else said, "Yeah, the girl's hurt, too. Look, her knee's all scraped up. Why don't you both just call it even and move on?"

With everyone chiming in, it almost sounded like I was the one at fault.

I shot a quick look at my watch, feeling a bit anxious. I was about to head to my car to grab my phone and make a call.

But the girl totally misread me, thinking I was about to make a run for it.

She grabbed my arm and said, "Don't you dare run. They're right. You owe me for my bike. My head's killing me, take me to the hospital now, and pay me for the work I missed."

I'd been trying to stay calm, but I just couldn't hold it in anymore.

I snapped, "Bikes aren't even supposed to be on the road for cars. I was stopped at a red light. Why should I be the one paying you?"

The girl fired back, "The road's wide here. I ride this way every single day. Who cares?

"Never had a problem before, but the second I run into you, I end up crashing. Who else could I blame but you?

"I work at a top company, okay? Missing work is seriously expensive."

Seeing her being so unreasonable, I couldn't take it anymore.

I asked, "So you're not gonna settle this between us?"

The girl snapped, "Exactly. Only guilty people try to keep things hush-hush. If you don't cough up, I'm calling the police."

I said, "Fine."

I learned from the traffic cop that her name was Tiana Smith.

The officer said, "Ms. Smith, you rode your bike into the car lane and weren't paying attention, which caused the crash. It's all on you, and you have to pay for Ms. Jennings' car repairs."

Tiana was practically hopping mad, her voice going up an octave. She exclaimed, "What? Are you guys siding with her? Don't make me go live and call you out on social media."

The traffic officer didn't even blink. He said, "Surveillance shows it all. You had your head buried in your phone, reading a novel. You didn't even hit the brakes at the red light."

Tiana was speechless. She never expected the footage to be that clear.

She bit her lip, gave me a dirty look, and muttered under her breath, "Guess I'm just unlucky. 200 bucks, whatever, I'll send it to you right now."

"Sorry, but 200 bucks is off the table now," I said.

"What do you mean?" she shot back.

I replied, "You said you didn't want to work it out between us, so now we'll let the authorities handle it. Whatever the final bill is, that's what you'll have to pay."

Tiana glanced at my car with utter disdain.

She scoffed, "For this piece of junk, even 200 bucks is generous. I know what you're up to. You are just trying to piss me off and waste my time.

"Whatever, I can drag this out as long as you want.

"But let me tell you: if any of you try to pull a fast one on me, my brother-in-law will make sure you all pay for it."

She didn't even spare the traffic cop from her threats.

The cop and I just stared at each other, totally speechless.

After that, the insurance guy gave my car a quick once-over and said it'd cost 2 thousand to fix.

Tiana exclaimed, "What? 2 thousand?"

She looked at us like she'd seen right through our game, her breathing getting fast and shaky.

She pointed right at the two traffic cops, yelling, "I've seen the news. You guys are fake cops, in cahoots with her.

"None of you is leaving today."

Then she whipped out her phone and dialed for reinforcements. In no time, a taxi screeched to a stop right next to us.