All Chapters of My Cousin Borrowed a Lawsuit: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

"You sure you didn't buy a refurbished one?" Zack asked."I got it from the official store." My throat felt dry. "Three months ago."Three months earlier, right after I bought the laptop, Vivian begged to borrow it."Lindsay, my company's starting this short-form video project, and I'm doing the editing." She grabbed my arm, practically bouncing. "My trash laptop can't even run 1080P without choking. Yours is crazy fast. Let me borrow it for a month? I swear I'll be careful."My mom jumped in immediately. "Just let Vivian use it. She just started her job."I hesitated.The laptop had cost $6,800. I'd split it into twelve monthly payments—about $565 each month.As a designer, my laptop was basically my life.Vivian held up a hand like she was taking an oath. "One month. That's it. I'll give it back the second the project's done. I'll keep it clean. I won't mess with anything."I believed her.One month turned into three.The first month, she said the project got delayed.The

Chapter 2

"How much are these parts worth now?""Used market value? The motherboard assembly's maybe worth $400. The two RAM sticks, around $80. SSD, maybe $40. Altogether, under $600.""What about my original parts?""Your original motherboard assembly, including the CPU and GPU, would be worth around $3,500. The RAM, about $500. SSD, around $600. Just those three components alone are worth roughly $4,600."$4,600.$600.A $4,000 difference."What about the warranty?""Opening the laptop and replacing parts without authorization counts as user damage, so it's not covered. And since the original hardware's gone, that's considered property loss. You'll need to contact whoever borrowed it."I paid the inspection fee and took the certified report.***The second I walked outside, I called Vivian.She picked up on the sixth ring. Loud music and chatter blasted in the background—sounded like she was at the mall.Her voice was lazy. "Hey, Lindsay.""Vivian, we need to talk about the lapt

Chapter 3

"Maybe she didn't know either—""For three months?" I cut in. "The laptop got that slow, and she never noticed? She was editing videos and gaming on it."Mom went quiet for a second, then her face hardened."So you're really gonna ruin your relationship with her over this little bit of money?"I looked at her, at the disappointment written all over her face, and something cold settled in my chest."Mom, it's four thousand dollars. Since when is that 'little money'?""You make almost three grand a month, right? Is four thousand really worth tearing the family apart over?" She crossed her arms. "Vivian just started working. She barely makes two grand a month. Making her pay that much would crush her."I suddenly couldn't breathe right. "Mom, that laptop cost sixty-eight hundred dollars. I'm paying it off in monthly installments. I still owe five-sixty-five every month. The thing isn't even paid off yet, and it's already wrecked. Why shouldn't she pay for it?"Mom let out a long s

Chapter 4

"Vivian!" Aunt Melissa grabbed her arm."Mom, stay out of it!" She yanked free and pointed at me. "Lindsay, I finally see who you really are. It's just a stupid laptop and four grand, and you're willing to destroy our relationship over it? Is money seriously all you care about?"I looked at her twisted expression and suddenly felt like I didn't know her at all."This isn't about money," I said. "It's about responsibility. You borrowed my laptop. It came back damaged. You pay for it. That's how this works.""What damage? The laptop still turns on, doesn't it? It still works!""Works?" I opened the laptop, pulled up Photoshop, and imported an image. "Watch."The loading bar crawled across the screen. The fan screamed loud enough for people at the next table to glance over."A ten-minute render used to take ten minutes. Now it takes two hours. Programs that used to open instantly freeze for three minutes. You call that working?"Vivian's face went red, then pale. "Th-That still wa

Chapter 5

That night, the family group chat blew up.Vivian dropped a huge paragraph, then a voice message full of fake-sounding tears."I seriously never thought Lindsay would do this to me... I just borrowed her laptop, and now she's accusing me of swapping parts and demanding four thousand dollars... Where am I even supposed to get that kind of money..."Messages flooded in right away.[Aunt Melissa: @Lindsay Get in here and explain yourself! How could you frame Vivian like this?][Uncle Joe: Lindsay, what's going on? How did things get this bad?][Aunt Brenda: Oh, come on. Vivian's still young. Can't you guys talk this out calmly?][Eric: @Lindsay This is way too far. It's just a laptop. Is this really worth it?]Then my mom jumped in too.[Everyone stop. I clearly failed raising my daughter.]My finger hovered over the screen for a few seconds.Then I dumped everything into the group chat—the inspection report, the authorized service center statement, side-by-side photos of the s

Chapter 6

"Even then, you still can't—""Mom," I cut in, "my whole life, you've always told me to just let things go."In elementary school, Vivian took my new pencil case. You told me to give it to her."In middle school, she broke my Walkman. You told me to forget it."In college, she borrowed $300 and didn't pay me back for three years. You said not to keep score with family."Now she swapped out $4,600 worth of my laptop hardware, and you still want me to let it go?"My mom opened her mouth, then stopped."This time, I'm not backing down," I said slowly. "Not this time. Not ever again.""Anybody who wants to take advantage of me better ask themselves first if they can afford to pay me back."I turned and walked into my room.As the door closed, I heard my mom crying quietly in the living room.It hurt.But I didn't turn around.Some lines can't be crossed.***The next day, I signed the agreement at Mr. Warren's law firm.He specialized in civil cases and clearly knew what he

Chapter 7

All I could hear on the other end was crying."Mom, this time you either support me or stay out of it," I said. "But if you keep trying to make me back down, then maybe we need to rethink our relationship too."I meant every word.I had to.Because I knew if I gave in again, I'd spend the rest of my life letting people walk over me.***By noon the next day, Vivian still hadn't replied.At two that afternoon, Mr. Warren officially filed the lawsuit.Reason for the lawsuit: property damage.Claim: Vivian had to pay me $4,000 for the damaged laptop parts and cover the legal fees.The court accepted the case right away.After filing, they scheduled pretrial mediation for the following week.I sent the case notice screenshot to Vivian, Aunt Melissa, and the family group chat:[The lawsuit's filed. Mediation's next week. @Vivian, see you in court.]The chat blew up again.But this time, way fewer people were blaming me.Mostly, there was this weird silence.Only my cousin E

Chapter 8

The mediator added, "And if it gets that far, you won't just owe compensation. You'll also have to cover court costs, and a judgment could follow you financially for years."Vivian's face instantly went pale. "I... I...""That concludes mediation." The mediator closed her notebook. "Since no agreement was reached, the case will move forward to litigation. The court date will be announced later."As we walked out of the courthouse, Vivian suddenly blocked me on the steps.Her eyes were red and puffy, but the look she gave me was full of resentment."Happy now? Did you really have to push me this far?""Vivian." I looked straight at her. "The second you swapped out my laptop parts, you chose this yourself.""I... I didn't steal anything!""Believe whatever you want." I walked past her. "See you in court."Mr. Warren caught up beside me and lowered his voice."She's probably close to breaking. When the mediator mentioned a judgment could follow her financially for years, her han

Chapter 9

Exactly four thousand. Not a dollar more, not a dollar less.I stared at the number for a while, then sent Vivian a screenshot.[Balance paid in full. This is officially over.]She didn't reply.But I watched the "typing..." bubble appear a few times.In the end, no message ever came through.That was fine.Some relationships break once and stay broken.No point pretending they can be fixed.That afternoon, I went to the mall.I bought a dress I'd loved for forever but always thought was too expensive. On sale, it was $380.When I tried it on, the salesgirl smiled."That color looks gorgeous on you. It makes you look really elegant."I looked at myself in the mirror.Thirty years old. Fine lines at the corners of my eyes, but my gaze was steady and bright.Not the old Lindsay anymore. The one who always backed down. Always gave in.I bought the dress.Still wearing it, I went to a nice restaurant. Ordered a steak and a glass of red wine.Outside, the city lights slowl

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