I had faced bullets and shells all my life, but never had I seen such brazen shamelessness.
Michael quickly moved in front of me, whispering, “Grandpa, let’s call the police.”
“Call the police?” one of Jason’s thugs burst out laughing.
“Go ahead! Let’s see whose side the cops take—yours, or Jason’s!”
As he spoke, he kicked Michael’s delivery bag so hard the spilled soup splattered all over Michael’s pants.
“A worthless delivery boy dares to argue with us? Do you know who Jason’s father is? Saying his name would scare you half to death!”
I didn’t bother arguing. I pulled out my old flip phone to call for help.
Jason lunged forward, snatching it from my hand and smashing it to the ground. It shattered into pieces.
“Old fool! Still trying to call someone? I told you—no one can save you today!”
He shoved me hard. My aging body staggered backward, slamming against the car.
“Grandpa!” Michael cried, trying to help me up, but two thugs grabbed him, yanking his hair and kicking the back of his knees until he collapsed with a scream.
“You punk, still trying to help?” Samantha’s eyes flashed with cruelty as she raised her hand to slap him again.
“Stop!” I shouted desperately.
In that moment, Samantha’s gaze fell on the locket hanging from Michael’s neck, and her eyes glinted with mockery.
“Well, well… this little trinket looks interesting.”
It was his grandmother’s heirloom pendant. She reached for it.
“Don’t touch it!” Michael cried.
“What could a poor boy like you possibly have that’s worth anything? Probably just a cheap piece of glass from a flea market.”
Her lips curled in disdain, but her hand didn’t stop. She yanked it off his neck, the string scraping his skin red.
“Give it back!”
Michael struggled fiercely, but the others pinned him down, grinding his hands against the pavement.
Samantha dangled the pendant in front of him, smirking.
“This piece of junk? Fine, take it back—it’s filthy anyway.”
She tossed it onto the ground and wiped her hands with a tissue.
That pendant had been my late wife’s most cherished possession. Before she died, she gave it to Michael, saying she hoped it would protect him for the rest of his life.
Thankfully, the pendant hadn’t broken.
Ignoring the pain in my back, I summoned every ounce of restraint and said coldly,
“Pick it up.”
Samantha sneered.
“A piece of trash? I’ll crush it instead. What can you do about it?”