"Besides, Mr. Henson absolutely dotes on that little sister of his. Wherever she goes, he follows. There's no way she'd ever show up here alone!"
He let out two smug little chuckles.
Victor nodded along beside him. "Right, right, right. Trash like her isn't fit to stand near our great Manager Lawrence!"
The man could really lay it on thick.
My brother was the ultimate doting big brother. He came with me everywhere I went, terrified something might happen to me.
But today something urgent had come up at the company and he couldn't get away.
He'd wanted to just have the new car delivered straight to our door.
I was the one who'd wanted to get out for a bit, who'd pictured picking up the car and driving it over to the office to surprise him.
I never imagined that the moment I walked in, something this absurd would happen.
Melanie shoved me from the side.
"When our manager speaks, you answer him! Did you hear what he just said or not?"
"The doors at our store are imported! You have to pay for the damage, or you're not getting out of here!"
Manager Lawrence gave me one flat glance and waved a careless hand as he strolled toward his office.
"Too many eyes around here. Whatever it takes, just settle it fast. The big VIP is going to show up any minute now."
Victor's smile turned sly as he and Melanie hauled me by force into the storage room in the back.
They were both bigger and stronger than me. I struggled forever and didn't stand a chance against them.
Once we were in the storage room, Victor brought the bill right up to my face.
"Two hundred and twenty thousand dollars in damages. If that money doesn't hit our account, forget buying a car—you'll have a hard time even walking out that door!"
Melanie snatched my purse while I wasn't looking.
She dug through it forever, took all my cash and my phone, then pulled out one of my cards.
Victor ran the card through the POS machine.
"Hurry up and enter the PIN. Don't keep me from greeting our VIP."
With Manager Lawrence's blessing, the two of them turned even more vicious, determined to force the payment out of me.
I fought back again, trying to break free and run, and Victor kicked me to the floor.
Melanie grabbed a fistful of my hair and shoved my head down toward the POS machine.
"Enter the PIN, now. Are you deaf?"
My forehead slammed against it again and again until the pain had tears streaming down my face.
In all my life, no one had ever treated me like this.
I clenched my teeth. "You'll be finished if my brother finds out you dared to do this to me."
What I got in return were two slaps from Melanie, delivered with everything she had.
"Where do you get off running your mouth? Enter the PIN! Our time is precious!"
My head was ringing from the blows, and through the haze I heard my brother's voice.
