Chapter 2

The dial tone kept ringing, but nobody picked up. It was so quiet that the only other sound that could be heard was that of the wind.

Ronald’s smug smile visibly stiffened. At the same time, a nervous look appeared in his eyes.

After what seemed like forever, someone finally picked up.

It was the voice of a woman, "Hello, is this Robin Baker’s father? Sorry, I was in a meeting just now."

"Hello, Miss Emilia. Yes, it’s me. I was just calling to ask if my son is at school right now."

"Of course he’s at school! It’s a weekday after all. He should be in the middle of a P.E. class right now."

Upon hearing this, I quickly approached and leaned in closer to the phone so I could get additional confirmation. "That’s impossible! Please take a look, he should be in the…"

"I see, I see. It’s fine, I won’t be taking any more of your time, hahaha!" Before I could finish, Ronald hung up while laughing sarcastically.

I grew anxious and instinctively reached for his phone, "You have to call her again to check. This is a matter of life and death!"

He dodged before casting me a derisive look. "Why? What are you getting so anxious about?"

Upon realizing that there was no use reasoning with him, I prepared to leave.

Just as I was walking away, I felt a terrible throb of pain in my scalp. He had yanked me so hard by the hair that I teared up from the pain.

"Hold on now, when did I say you could leave? Did you forget what I told you? My son may be fine, but you’re in big trouble!"

My heart dropped. This was bad. It was going to be very difficult to get away from someone as aggressive and unruly as he was.

Just as I was plotting my escape, my phone inside the car rang.

In the tiny window when he was distracted by the phone, I clenched my teeth and stomped as hard as I could on his foot. The moment his grip loosened, I broke free and ran back into the car, where I slammed the doors and locked the windows.

He ran after me and pressed his face against the window.

I was taken aback when I turned to look at him.

He wore a stiff smile while he slowly, rhythmically tapped against the glass. It was as if he were toying with an animal inside an enclosure.

It was impossible to predict the next move of someone who had a tendency for violence like him. It was especially the case when he believed he held the moral high ground over me.

This was something I learned over the years as a medical practitioner.

Meanwhile, my phone was still ringing. There was no time to think. I answered Dr. Gibson’s call.

"Dr. Leigh! Where are you? The child is showing multiple signs of organ failure! You are the only one who can handle something like this! Do you want me to get on my knees and beg for you to come?"

Dr. Gibson's voice, along with the sound of Roland smacking against the window, formed a discordant opera. I felt like my head was going to split open.

Then, I heard the sharp, grating sound of metal against metal. The sharp screech shot into my eardrums.

I looked in the rearview mirror just in time to meet Ronald’s devilish gaze. He brandished his keys at me while taunting me with a smile.

I immediately realized what had happened. He had scratched the word "scammer" onto my new car. The handwriting was crooked. Each letter was carved as deeply as ravines and covered the entire surface of my car.

This was a new car I bought for myself on my 30th birthday. I had to live frugally for a few years just to afford it at all.

There was no time to grieve over it. I immediately dialed the emergency number.

Before the call even connected, I felt an ominous feeling wash over me.

It all happened in an instant. Following a deafening crash, a brick smashed right through the window. The brick grazed across my face and drew a deep gash.

It was immediately followed by Ronald reaching into the car to unlock the door before forcibly pulling me out of it.

He roared with laughter while dragging me to the floor. He even took the car keys out of the ignition so I could not get away from him.

That was when he noticed the amulet I had strapped to the rearview mirror. He proceeded to yank it so hard that the thread broke in an instant.

"Look at this, you have an amulet! Did you get it so you can ward off karmic debt from all the harm you’ve been doing?"

I was appalled. It was an amulet my grandmother had given to me when I was a child, when I nearly died from a fever. She had taken a pilgrimage and climbed thousands of steps to an old church to get it for me.

It was one of the very few memorabilia I had of her.

"Give it back!"

He began to gloat when he noticed how frantic I had become. He fiddled the amulet between his fingers and scowled, "How dare a scammer like you expect to get any kind of divine protection? Keep dreaming!"

With that, he threw the amulet to the ground and stomped on it. "I’ll show you divine retribution."

I felt a terrible throb in my heart. I lunged at him with tears in my eyes.

It was no use. He grabbed me and pinned my hands behind my back, rendering me immobile in an instant. He grabbed me by my chin and forced me to look at him.

"You damned wench. You should be staying at home instead of parading out here! How dare you criticize my driving skills? Who do you think you are?"

I was worn out and dizzy by then. I felt like I was seeing stars.

It looked like a thought suddenly came to him then. He cocked a look at me before reaching for his phone to start a livestream.

"Hello, everyone! I just got my driving license today, and what would you know? I ran into a scammer! She says my son is in the ICU, tried to attack me, and even tried to scam money out of me!

"I’ll suck up my losses, but I’m going to take the chance to get revenge for everyone who has been scammed!

"We’re going to punish her live for every gift you send! A slap is worth $5, a kick is worth $10!

"If you send $50, I’ll have her get on her knees and beg for forgiveness!"