Chapter 4

Jeffrey was the first to get out of one of the cars. He raised his phone and snapped a photo of my front door, shouting, "We're here! First stop of the day, getting the Toyota Crown bridal car!"

The others filed out one after another.

Aunt Mindy, wearing a maroon colored jacket, immediately pulled out her phone and started livestreaming as soon as she stepped down.

"Today is my son's big day! I'm livestreaming the ultra-rare old Toyota Crown that most people have never seen! Let me show you what real luxury looks like!"

Behind her trailed six or seven distant relatives, carrying bags of wedding favors and chattering excitedly about what it would feel like to ride in the old Toyota Crown. Altogether, there were about 16 of them, lined up in two rows.

Jeffrey cleared his throat, took out his phone, and sent a voice message in the Chapman family group.

"Mom! Aunt Nat! We're here at the garage now! The Toyota Crown will be out any minute! You guys wait on Fairway Street! The convoy will pass by at 8:00 am sharp!"

Rosalie's voice message blasted back from the phone. "Got it, got it! We're all ready and waiting! There are more than 20 of us waiting here! Jeff, tell the driver to go slow. We want to get it on video!"

Jeffrey put his phone away, looking thoroughly pleased with himself, and reached up to press the doorbell.

The doorbell rang once, but it went unanswered.

So Jeffrey pressed the doorbell again. Still, no one answered it.

Then, he began banging on the door with a frown on his brow. "Chris! Open up! I need the keys! We're running on a tight schedule here!"

The whole group joined in, pounding on the door and making a racket.

After a while, the door finally opened, and all the noise stopped abruptly at the exact same moment.

There wasn't a Toyota Crown in the garage. Instead, a police tow truck sat in its place. Two traffic officers were crouched on the ground, taking photos and documenting the scene.

The dozen or so people behind Jeffrey, who had been kicking up a fuss just moments ago, were now dead silent.

Aunt Mindy's live-stream was still rolling, and the comments on the screen had already gone berserk.

"Whoa, wasn't this supposed to be about picking up the car? Why are there traffic cops in the garage? This is wild!"

"Didn't the streamer just say they were going to get the vintage Toyota Crown? Well, where's the car?"

"Forget that, I'm just here for the tea. Someone tell me what's going on!"

The officers stood up unhurriedly and turned their body cams toward the crowd. "Which one of you is Jeffrey Coleman?"

Jeffrey's jaw moved, but he didn't make a sound.

"Are you the one in charge who was planning to take the Toyota Crown out on the road? We received a report that this vehicle is in violation of regulations and suspected of being used for illegal commercial transport."

Jeffrey panicked. "It's just a car! How is driving it a violation? And besides, I haven't even driven it yet."

One of the officers looked up at him.

"The report came with dozens of chat screenshots. You publicly posted the wedding pickup route in the group and invited people to ride along. Care to explain how this isn't soliciting passengers for illegal transportation?"

The livestream chat exploded with discussion.

"What? Illegal commercial transport? Wasn't this just a bridal car pickup?"

"Holy crap, the groom is running an illegal taxi service? Is this wedding even happening?"

"Where's the bride? Does she know that her husband might end up in custody on their wedding day?"

"I'm video-recording this! Best wedding fail of the year!"

No one present dared to respond to the police officer's question.

It was only then that Aunt Mindy finally had the presence of mind to turn off the live-stream, but by then, it was far too late. The video had already spread.

The officer put away his notebook and spoke in a low voice, every word landig heavily.

"Under the Road Traffic Safety Law and relevant state regulations governing passenger transportation, non-commercial vehicles are prohibited from providing paid passenger transport services or engaging in any form of disguised for-profit multi-passenger transportation. I'll need all of you to come with me."