Chapter 4
"A man who can't even support himself and has to mooch off his parents, his girlfriend, and his wife just to keep his whole clan fed.
"Mr. Martinez, honestly, don't you think you're acting like a parasite?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, wait, calling you a parasite would actually be unfair to real parasites.
"After all, even parasites don't go around pretending to be saints while they're busy draining the life out of everyone."
My voice wasn't loud, but everyone nearby could hear her clearly.
Benjamin's face went from ghostly pale to a dark, livid purple.
The pop-up messages above his head were a barrage of vicious curses, nastier than ever.
[Bitch! Bitch! How dare she! How dare she humiliate me in front of everyone?
[I'll kill her! I swear I'll kill her!]
Benjamin suddenly jumped up, his hand raised as if he was about to hit me.
I was already prepared. I grabbed my coffee and splashed it right in his face.
"Ah!" The hot coffee made him scream in agony.
The café manager and security came running over. "Sir! Sir, calm down!"
I shot him a cold look, pulled a few hundred-dollar bills from my bag, and slapped them down on the table. "Take this as payment for your medical bills and for all the pain and suffering you and your vampire family put me through.
"Stop ruining people's lives and don't ever show your face again. Get lost."
With that, I turned and strode out, leaving everyone staring in shock.
Dealing with that wannabe success story had way bigger consequences than when I trashed that mama's boy last time.
Hailey called my mom and totally went off on her, saying I was not just rude but straight-up violent, and that I'd messed up a perfectly good PhD student's face.
My mom was so furious that she nearly had a heart attack, pointing at me and calling me a jinx.
My dad didn't say a single word to me for two days, and the atmosphere at home was so icy.
I was enjoying the peace and quiet.
It was the weekend, and I was in my room, headphones on, just listening to music, when my mom suddenly barged in.
She wore this weirdly eager, almost desperate smile.
"Isabella, can we talk about something?" she said.
I took off my headphones.
This was definitely trouble.
"Alright, spill it," I said.
"Chloe, you know, that colleague from my old job, wants to introduce you to someone," she said.
I frowned. "Not this again?"
"Just listen to me." My mom hurriedly grabbed my arm. "This guy is seriously a gem. Top-notch, totally dependable."
She launched right into her endless pitch. "His name's Lucas Taylor, he's thirty-two, started his own investment company. He really got his act together for his age. And he's seriously handsome, like straight out of a movie.
"He says he likes girls with steady government jobs. Shy, sweet types like you.
"Please, just this once, don't make a fuss. Do it for your dad and me, okay? Just meet him, that's all I'm asking."
Seeing her practically begging me with her eyes, I just felt so annoyed inside.
Great, another guy who was into "sweet and innocent" types.
Guys like that were always trouble.
But when I saw the gray in my mom's hair, my resolve melted.
"This is the last time," I said.
"Yes, yes. Last time, I promise." Mom's face lit up; she was over the moon.
The meetup was at a high-end Western restaurant, the kind where dropping a thousand dollars per person was just the norm.
When I arrived, Lucas was already there.
Just like my mom said, he was seriously easy on the eyes.
He was rocking a perfectly tailored suit, a watch that screamed "I'm loaded," his hair slicked back as he'd just stepped out of a magazine, and that classic, polished smile you only see on corporate hotshots.
As soon as I sat down, a pop-up overlay flashed across my vision.
[Name: Lucas Taylor]
[Occupation: CEO of a fake company]
[Real Assets: -5 million dollars (owed to loan sharks)]
[Tags: Romance Scam (S-tier Con Artist)]
[Cases: 3 (all financial fraud, on the run)]
My eyes widened in shock.
This time, the overlay wasn't just a red warning. It was a stark, terrifying black.
The bold black letters coiled across the screen like a nest of venomous snakes.
[WARNING! WARNING! Extremely dangerous individual detected! Target is a professional scammer. Three women have already lost everything, drowned in debt, and taken their own lives because of him! Isabella, report him now! Run!]
My back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
This guy wasn't just some piece of work. He was straight-up a criminal.
Secretly under the table, I gripped my phone and hit the speed dial for 911.
Lucas handed me the menu with a winning smile.
"Relax, Miss Jenkins. Get whatever you want," he said.
His gaze was sweet but deadly, like honey laced with poison, dangerous and slick.
[Another innocent target.
[Government job, steady paycheck, simple social circle, parents with savings. She's the perfect mark.
[Judging by her outfit, she's not big on spending. Probably clueless about the high life. She'll be easy to fool with my luxury flex.
[Step one: Flash some cash, set up my luxury persona.]
I forced myself to stay calm and smiled at him.
"Mr. Taylor, you go ahead and order. Anything's good with me," I said.
[Nice, she's playing along just like I thought.]
Lucas snapped his fingers, called the waiter over, and smoothly ordered the most expensive dishes on the menu, plus a bottle of wine that cost over three grand.
He didn't even blink the whole time.
"So, Miss Jenkins, what do you like to do for fun?" he asked, sounding all casual.