The Fall

I watched as Emily and my dad emerged from the kitchen, their faces a mask of shock and disbelief. For a moment, they stood frozen in place, taking in the scene before them. But their shock quickly turned to panic as they realized the severity of the situation. Emily's carefully crafted promotion had descended into chaos, and there was no way to salvage it now.

As the sound of retching and groaning filled the air, a part of me couldn't help but revel in the chaos. This was the moment I had been waiting for – the moment when my sister's deception was laid bare for all to see.

As Emily and my dad rushed to attend to the affected patrons, I knew that there would be consequences for what had transpired here today.

"You bastards! You want us to lose our lives for a stupid free event?! Ah! It hurts!" Travis's sudden performance was a stroke of genius, a seamless blend of theatrics and deception that further fueled the chaos unfolding before us. As he writhed on the floor in feigned agony, his cries of pain reverberated through the restaurant, drawing the attention of every patron within earshot. It was a sight to behold, watching him command the floor with such conviction and flair.

Jasper's quick response only added to the spectacle. With practiced ease, he rushed to Travis's side, his expression a perfect mix of concern and urgency. Together, they painted a convincing picture of suffering, their performance captivating the audience and inciting their fury.

"They've poisoned me!"

The patrons, already on edge from the sudden outbreak of illness, were quick to latch onto Travis's accusations. His words echoed in their ears, igniting a firestorm of anger and indignation. They turned their wrath towards my sister and dad, hurling accusations and insults with reckless abandon.

I watched from the sidelines, a mix of pride and apprehension churning in my stomach. Travis had executed his role flawlessly, but the consequences of his actions were unfolding in ways I had not anticipated. The once-stylish restaurant now resembled a messy battleground, with patrons unleashing their fury upon my sister and dad.

As plates flew through the air and voices rose in a cacophony of anger, I realized that the fallout from this debacle would quickly get out of hand.

All eyes turned to my dad, who stood with a mixture of fury and despair etched upon his face. In a swift and startling move, he raised his hand and planted it firmly against my sister's cheek, the resounding slap echoing through the room.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still as the patrons processed the shocking scene before them. The stunned silence was palpable, broken only by the sound of my sister recoiling from the blow.

The commotion that had engulfed the restaurant mere moments ago now seemed to hang in the air, suspended by the weight of my dad's actions. It was as if his single act of defiance had punctuated the chaos, bringing a temporary reprieve to the tumultuous scene.

"You useless cow! What did you do?! You were only responsible for making sure the dishes were correct! Didn't you tell me everything is just fine?!" Dad screamed, his face contorted with rage, a vein pulsating on his forehead.

"Daddy! It's not me! It's all the kitchen staff!" My sister cried, her voice trembling with fear and desperation. "They're awful!"

"That's not true!" A few of the chefs had finally come out of hiding, their expressions betraying their fear. "We came in today and we saw that all the vegetables were rotten! We refused to cook any of it but she threatened all our livelihoods if we didn't cook it anyway! We all have family to look after and can't afford such threats! We had no choice!"

My dad turned away from the chefs, his face a mask of fury, and looked at my sister with a mixture of anger and disappointment. "You dared to use spoiled food to serve to the customers?! How stupid can you be?! Did that plastic surgery leak into your brain?! Stupid child! You've ruined everything! Get out of my sight!"

"Daddy! It was the supplier! He gave me the rotten stuff!" Emily sobbed, her voice thick with tears and desperation.

"Don't blame it on our supplier! We've been using the same one for years! You told me everything was absolutely fine after you bought it! Did you even really check it out?" My dad snapped, his voice booming with rage. "I should've never let you back out! You've ruined everything!"

As the chaos continued to unfold, the restaurant descended into a cacophony of wails, shouts, and sirens. Paramedics rushed back and forth, their urgent movements a stark contrast to the stunned silence that had settled over the crowd. Some patrons lay writhing in agony on the floor, while others huddled together in fear, seeking solace amidst the chaos.

The arrival of more ambulances only added to the sense of urgency, their flashing lights illuminating the restaurant with an eerie glow. Police officers worked tirelessly to maintain order, their voices barely audible above the din as they struggled to contain the growing unrest.

The sight of Emily being escorted to a police car only added fuel to the fire, as angry patrons shouted accusations and threats in her direction. The police intervened, forming a barrier to protect her from the enraged crowd, but tensions remained high as more and more people succumbed to the effects of the tainted food.

As the day wore on, the full extent of the tragedy became apparent. News crews arrived on the scene, their cameras capturing the chaos for the world to see. Surely in the days that followed, headlines would scream of food poisoning and scandal, casting a shadow over the failing once proud establishment. For those who had fallen victim to the tainted food, the road to recovery would be long and arduous.

As we drove away from the chaotic scene, I couldn't resist fishing for compliments. "Well that went very well. I promised you drama and delivered, let's go so I can change."

Travis pressed on, seeking validation. "Are you not going to compliment my performance? Go on, thank your mother for adding feud to the fire!"

I chuckled, recalling his over-the-top antics. "Yes, yes, you were absolutely brilliant. You should win an award for that."

Jasper chimed in with a sigh, his tone reflecting the gravity of the situation. "I wasn't expecting things to be so chaotic."

"It always is when it comes to my family. I come from a long line of drama queens," I quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

Travis couldn't contain his excitement at the fallout from our plan. "Well there's no way she can come back from this, and with your dad losing his longest running restaurant, it'll definitely get her disowned."

I nodded in agreement. "Well, she shouldn't have served rotten food when she was capable of getting fresh product in the case of emergencies."

Jasper shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah, she did this one to herself. She even threatened the kitchen if they didn't cook it. Crazy."

Travis couldn't resist injecting some humor into the conversation. "Well I feel pretty healthy now. Maybe the water I drank will help clean my insides."

Jasper teased him in response. "That's just the bacteria from the tap water doing its work."

As we discussed Emily's fate, I couldn't shake the image of her devastated face. "Seriously, did you see Emily's face?"

Jasper, ever the voice of reason, sighed. "I wasn't expecting your dad to slap her honestly. I almost arrested him."

I acknowledged the gravity of the situation. "You'll have that chance later," I assured him, bracing myself for the fallout from our actions.

"Let's go to the restaurant to watch the news about this," Travis suggested, his excitement palpable.

I nodded eagerly, feeling a surge of anticipation. "They'll probably use the six o'clock slot."

Arriving at Lombardi's, I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction as our unsuspecting staff bustled about, unaware of the chaos that had unfolded at LaVeoux.

At around 6:30pm, the news broadcast finally unfolded before our eyes. Each clip, each image, served as a stark reminder of the chaos we had witnessed firsthand just hours earlier.

The images of people in distress, of ambulances lined up outside the restaurant, of distraught patrons being rushed to the hospital, were a chilling testament to the severity of the situation. The faces of those affected, contorted in pain and anguish, seemed to haunt the screen, leaving a mark on my mind.

The testimonies of witnesses, their voices trembling with anger and frustration, painted a damning picture of negligence and disregard for public safety.

As the numbers flashed on the screen—over fifty people hospitalized, countless police reports filed, and four individuals in critical condition—the weight of the consequences began to sink in.

The final shot of the news reporter attempting to chase down my father for a statement, only to witness his collapse, sent a chill down my spine. He had not been spared from the fallout of my actions either.

The LaVeoux crew was now under investigation, facing the prospect of legal repercussions for their role in the incident.

"Do you think I'm bad now?" I asked as the news report ended.

"No, your sister is disgusting though," Jasper sighed. "It's crazy." His response was swift, dismissing any notion of my wrongdoing and directing his disdain towards my sister's actions.

"She's desperate, at least now I'm out of a legally binding contract. It's karma," I said.

"Karma?" Jasper questioned.

"Yeah, she tried to sabotage my business through deliveries, then my dad slapped a waitress, then she tried to buy everything I had with a low amount of money. Because of that, she received rotten food from me. Who knew she would actually serve it all?" I explained.

"True, we didn't know she would," Jasper breathed a sigh of relief and I immediately felt guilty. I knew very well she was stupid enough to use it deep down.

"Do you feel guilty?" I asked.

"No, these kind of things happen." Jasper sighed. "So can I get a reward for helping you out today?"

"What did you have in mind?" I asked.

"Maybe you can finally say what you like about me?" Jasper's suggestion opened the door to a moment of vulnerability, a chance to express the appreciation and affection I held for him.

"Your face?" I wasn't very sure of how to answer him.

"Another time then. So what's your next move?" As Jasper probed about my future plans for revenge, his excitement was palpable, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at his eagerness to see what I would concoct next.

"Well, I don't really plan in advance anymore," I confessed.

Jasper's brows furrowed in confusion. "Why not? Wouldn't it be more effective to have a solid plan?"

"It keeps them on their toes," I explained, shrugging slightly. "And besides, things rarely go according to plan when it comes to revenge. I had to adapt to the situation as it unfolded."

Jasper's eyes widened in disbelief. "So all of this was just you acting on impulse to get back at your family?"

I nodded, feeling a mixture of pride and uncertainty. "I had a general plan during my time in prison, but unexpected things keep happening. Starting the restaurant was just a petty gesture to take Emily down, but it turned into something more."

"So you don't want Lombardi's anymore?" Jasper gasped, clearly shocked by my revelation.

"No, I still want Lombardi's," I assured him. "But it wasn't originally part of the plan. It just ended up being a beneficial side effect of unexpected events."

Jasper seemed taken aback by my admission. "But everything seemed so meticulously executed. I thought this was all part of a grand scheme years in the making."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his perception. "You're giving me too much credit, Jasper. I'm not some evil genius with a secret lair."

"You're totally a a super villain."

I reflected on Jasper's perception of me as some sort of supervillain and I couldn't help but find it amusing.

Sure, I had orchestrated the downfall of a famous restaurant and engineered my older brother's incarceration. I had succeeded in getting them both disowned from the Todd family, and I had effectively tarnished the reputation of the Todd Corporation, sending their stock plummeting by the day.

But was I truly a villain?

I preferred to think of myself as someone who sought justice in unconventional ways. I wasn't motivated by greed or a desire for power; rather, I was driven by a sense of retribution for the injustices I had suffered at the hands of my family. My actions may have been drastic, but they were born out of necessity and a desire to level the playing field.

If anything I was creating balance.