Reborn to Ruin the Woman Who Destroyed My Family

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!"