Chapter Two
Catherine's POV
Jessica jumped in. “Exactly! Today it’s Wagyu. Tomorrow she’ll be taking money from the register. David, make her sign an IOU. She can pay for the beef out of her retirement money.”
“That’s right,” David said as if it were perfectly reasonable. “Mom, apologize to Jessica and promise you won’t touch any of the restaurant’s ingredients again.”
Apologize?
He wanted me to apologize to that woman?
I laughed in disbelief, ripped off my apron, and slammed it onto the counter.
“Apologize? I quit.”
David’s expression darkened. “Mom, what are you doing now?”
Before he finished speaking, a sharp, tearing pain shot through my chest.
I was having a heart attack.
I clutched my chest. My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the porcelain shards scattered across the floor.
“Catherine!” Leon screamed.
I gasped for air as my vision began to fade.
Through the haze, I saw Jessica sneer.
“Stop pretending! She does this every time someone calls her out. David, let’s go. Don’t give this old drama queen any attention.”
David didn’t even look at me. He turned and followed Jessica out of the kitchen.
The door slammed shut.
Something inside me died with it.
Leon pulled out his phone with shaking hands and shouted.
“Catherine, stay with me! I’m calling 911!”
I grabbed his sleeve so tightly that my nails dug into his arm. With the last of my strength, I forced out a few words through clenched teeth.
“Leon... get me out of here...”
Then everything went black.
I didn’t know how much time had passed before I opened my eyes and found myself staring at the white ceiling of a hospital room.
“Catherine! You’re finally awake!”
Leon rose from the chair beside my bed. His eyes were red and swollen. He gripped my hand, his voice trembling.
“The doctor said you had a heart attack. If I’d gotten you here ten minutes later, you wouldn’t have made it.”
Tears slid silently down my face.
Even my protégé cared this much about me.
What about my own family?
Just then, the hospital room door was shoved open.
David and Jessica walked in. Jessica looked impatient, while David carried a folder in his hand.
“You’re awake. Good. You can stop pretending you’re dying now.”
Jessica stepped forward and tossed a long printout onto my blanket.
“Since you’re awake, you can settle your bill.”
I struggled to pick up the paper.
It was a detailed, itemized bill.
Wagyu, white truffles, caviar. They had even charged me for garlic and bottles of olive oil.
Total: $25,000.
“What is this?” I asked, my voice hoarse.
“It’s the cost of everything you’ve stolen or wasted in the kitchen over the past three years!”
Jessica raised her chin as if she had every right to demand it. “I had the accountant calculate every last cent. You taste-tested dishes in the kitchen every day, and you always used premium ingredients. You’re going to pay us back for all of it.”
They hadn’t brought flowers.
They hadn’t even asked how I was.
They had come straight to my hospital room to demand money.
I shook with anger.
Taste-testing?
How was a chef supposed to maintain quality without tasting the food? How else had I earned this restaurant its Michelin recognition?
I turned toward David. “David... is this what you want too?”
He avoided my eyes and cleared his throat.
“Jessica’s right, Mom. We need money to expand the restaurant. Since you can’t work anymore, you should at least repay what you cost us.”
He paused and handed me the folder.
“There’s also an agreement transferring your shares in the restaurant. Your twenty-percent stake will cover what you owe us. Sign it, and stay out of the restaurant’s business from now on. Once you’re discharged, go back to your old apartment.”
Heartless.
So this was my wonderful son.
I had sold my home to open his restaurant. I had worked for him without pay for three years and built the place into what it was.
Now that I was sick, he didn’t care whether I lived or died. He only wanted to squeeze every last thing he could out of me.
“Are you even human?”
Leon finally snapped. He rushed at David, grabbed him by the collar, and raised his fist.
“Catherine nearly died because of you! And you came to her hospital room to shake her down for money? I swear, I’ll beat you to death, you bastard!”
“Leon, stop!”
I shouted with all the strength I had left.
Leon froze. He turned toward me as tears streamed down his face.
“Catherine...”
“Let him go,” I said coldly, my voice strangely calm.
Whatever love I had left for my son was gone.
I had once treasured my son more than anything. Now, he seemed like a complete stranger, and the sight of him disgusted me.
“David, are you sure this is what you want?” I asked one last time.
