His tone turned sharp. "Pay the bill in full. Take them and get out. If I have to come down there, I will personally send you to jail."
My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles went white. He thinks they're my parents?
"Anthony, listen to me—"
Click.
My in-laws, close enough to hear the shouting, were trembling with fury.
"What a bastard!" my father-in-law roared.
"What did he say?" my mother-in-law asked, her voice shaking. "He wants to send us to jail?"
Knowing their fiery tempers, I tried to intervene. "Dad, Mom, please calm down. Let's go to the company headquarters and talk to him face-to-face."
"Absolutely not!" My father-in-law pulled out his own phone. "I want him down here right now. I'm going to make him fire this vixen!"
He barely dialed a digit before Jasmine snatched the phone from his hand.
"Who are you calling a vixen, you old fossil?"
With a casual flick, she dropped it into a tureen of soup. It sank with a heavy plop. She leaned over the table, pointing a manicured finger right in his face.
"You really think you're someone special? If Tony darling wasn't so soft-hearted, trash like you wouldn't even be allowed in the city, let alone this restaurant. Don't try to play the 'respect your elders' card with me."
She straightened up, glaring at me. "Violet Henson, if you know what's good for you, pay up and drag them out of here. Otherwise, things are going to get ugly."
I glanced at the elderly couple. Their chests were heaving, faces flushed a dangerous shade of red. I couldn't risk their health. I had to get them out immediately.
I pulled out my bank card and swiped it.
Transaction Declined.
I tried another. Declined.
A chill ran down my spine. Anthony hadn't just sided with his mistress—he had frozen my assets. He was letting this woman humiliate us and had cut off my lifeline to ensure I couldn't fight back.
I dialed him again. Straight to voicemail.
"I already told Tony to freeze your accounts," Jasmine laughed, the sound shrill and triumphant. She snapped her fingers, and several burly security guards emerged from the shadows.
They rolled up their sleeves, forming a wall of muscle around her.
"Manager Maxwell isn't someone you want to provoke," one guard growled, cracking his knuckles.
"That's right," another added, smirking. "Some drunk idiot cursed at her a few days ago. The boss broke the guy's leg and bankrupted his entire family."