Saving A Stranger Cost Me Half A Million

"I almost fell for his lies. People like him belong behind bars."

Lucas straightened his tie and looked down at me with cold arrogance.

"Kid, if you don't have evidence, then stop making accusations. Come up with 500 thousand within three days. If you fail to do that, I will make sure you won't be able to stay in this city."

I was surrounded by a crowd, unable to defend myself. Money spoke louder than truth, and there were no cameras to back me up.

In their eyes, I was already finished.

I stared at Lucas's hypocritical face and Layla's smug smile. Rage churned violently in my chest.

Layla pulled the latest smartphone out of her bag and opened Instagram. She went live and quickly captioned it, "Delivery Guy Smashes Porsche Out of Jealousy."

Within seconds, thousands of people flooded into the stream.

She adjusted her hair and squeezed out a few tears on camera.

"Guys, can you believe this? I honestly have the worst luck today. I parked my car by the roadside as normal, and this delivery guy saw my Porsche, got jealous, and smashed my window to pieces!"

She shared some photos on the live stream, showing the viewers the shattered window.

"Look at this. This is a two-million-dollar car! He even tried to steal my Hermès bag from inside. When I caught him, he assaulted me!"

Then she turned the camera toward me, pointing at my worn delivery uniform.

"It's him. He's the kind of person who belongs at the very bottom of society."

The comments exploded instantly.

"Damn, these jealous freaks are terrifying!"

"Lock him up and make him pay for what he did!"

"Stay strong! Don't let people like this win!"

Lucas stepped into frame at the perfect moment and draped an arm around Layla's shoulders. Facing the camera, he adopted a grave, righteous expression.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Layla's husband. We will not tolerate this kind of violence. We'll pursue this matter to the very end and ensure justice is served. We won't give in to this kind of evil."

The chat exploded with praise.

"He's such a protective husband. That's so cool!"

"That's what a real man looks like!"

I watched their pathetic performance with a cold gaze.

"Are you sure you want to blow this up?" I asked.

Layla let out a mocking laugh.

"Blow this up? I want the whole country to see your disgusting face. I'll completely ruin your reputation."

Just then, my phone vibrated violently. It was the manager.

The second I picked up, his angry voice exploded through the phone, almost deafening me.

"Phineas Kensington! Look at the trouble you've caused! The entire internet is talking about you smashing that Porsche. Our support lines are completely flooded! Because of you, the whole company is getting fined! You're fired! You're not getting paid a single cent this month. Get lost!"

The line went dead.

I lowered my phone and took a deep breath.

My job was gone. My pay was gone. Not only were they forcing me to compensate them, but they were also stripping away my livelihood entirely.

When Layla heard my manager's words, she burst into laughter and nearly doubled over.

"Serves you right. Trash like you should starve on the streets!"

I reached up and touched the small hidden camera on my helmet. It had captured everything, from the moment I found the child to the moment I broke the window to save him and even Layla attacking me.

I had originally meant to take the footage to the police, but I no longer planned to do so.

Since they enjoyed manipulating public opinion and distorting the truth, I would let them rise as high as they wanted before pulling them down.

As I looked at Layla and Lucas, a cold smile spread across my face.

"Alright, let's play this out slowly."