Reduced to nothing

People started to whisper, dropping their food immediately to feed their confused and curious selves. Mrs Rosario joined her husband to stand, her wildly thumping heart contrasting the calm expression she wore. She forced a smile, "Shouldn't you be at the Trivedi's?"

"Mmm- barf!!" Kevin threw up everything right in his older brother's arms. 

"Mom!" The oldest grimaced and shouted, seeing the pitiful state of his younger brother. "I told you this food tastes funny!!"

Even as he spoke, he was very pale, hands shaking, and constantly biting his lower lip, probably fighting to keep it in so he could look after his brother. His parents were really frustrating!!! People gasped at the poor boy vomiting his guts out and the negligent parents.

"We'll start from there", Luke pointed at the Rosario's table. A team went to collect their food as a sample. "The rest of you, the kitchen and storage."

"Hold on, what is going on here?!" Mrs Rosario roared. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Call for an ambulance, these kids need medical attention", Luke spoke and a subordinate did so. The two boys looked at him like he was their hero. 

"Enrique, are you just going to watch this? Do something!!" She smacked his back only for him to wince at the stimulated cramps. 

"Mr. Olstein, don't you see we're in the middle of a celebration?" Enrique spoke. The sweat on his face making him look more guilty than actually sick.

"That's exactly why we came. Hosting this many people. Were you really willing to lose THIS MUCH profit...?" he shook his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She snapped, his accusations insulting her pride. He didn't have to point out where it hurt the most with all the murmurings from the audience, especially the curious reporters.

"Is the ambulance on it's way?" Luke asked a subordinate.

"Five minutes, sir!"

Luke stood his ground and said nothing. He wanted the kids gone first. Enrique comforted his fuming wife. "Don't worry, it's probably nothing."

She fell mute. It wouldn't be nothing with the FDA being there. She wanted to run away, escape at least, a part of her told her. But a dominant part said otherwise. She was confident that whatever they came to look for, wouldn't be there. Because it was not there, but at the Trivedi's.

"Sir, the ambulance is here!" 

"What's your name?" Luke asked the older boy.

"Troy", he answered, still holding and comforting his brother.

"Troy, do you think you can take care of yourself and your brother?" 

"Yes, sir", Troy affirmed, a look of admiration in his eyes. 

Luke nodded and gestured for a subordinate to help them out. As soon as the kids left, he turned his gaze to the Rosario couple. "Even after all this, you still don't know what's happening?"

"Sir! Psychrothrophics have been detected in the food!" A subordinate working on the food sample reported.

"Here too!" Another reported from the storage, bringing out a box of goods. 

"Mr. and Mrs. Rosario, you will have to come with us. You deliberately violated the food act and food safety laws by not only purchasing revived rotten food, but selling it to your customers-"

Gasp! People moved from their tables with horror and shock on their faces.

"Wait!! You got the wrong restaurant! We never made such a purchase! It's all organic!!" She shrieked upon being suddenly restrained by two burly men. 

"But we received a report that said that you made an order for that to be delivered-"

"TO THE TRIVEDI's!!! NOT HERE!!!" 

Enrique cupped his wife's mouth. Her big mouth and the silence that followed made him wish he could dig a hole and hide. 

"The Trivedi's?" Luke asked with raised brows. "Were you the one who gave us the false tip-off? You do know that is a crime?"

"What do you mean by false?" Enrique's curiosity was piqued at this.

Luke stuffed his hands into his pockets and proceeded to explain. "Yes, false. We raided the wrong restaurant thanks to that tip. I wouldn't be surprised if all that defamation going on was instigated by you?"

"Defamation?? They're the ones with the poisonous food!!" She snarled, not wanting to believe.

"Mrs. Rosario, we have receipts showing you purchasing the rotten goods and chemicals. You even bargained for a cheaper price. Text messages between Mr. Rosario and a certain Cole from FAMILY FARM FRESH", Luke explained, sounding very bored. "And, Trivedi's will surely sue you for the defamation."

"I thought you deleted those messages", she hissed at Enrique.

"I did but those were not-" Enrique crouched down in pain to hold his growling stomach.

Gasps!!

"Oh my gosh!"

"It was the Rosarios all along!"

"They even went as far as defaming a reputable restaurant like Trivedi's!"

"NO! That damn Trivedi could have bribed you to defame us instead! They have the poisoned package!!" She screamed at Luke.

"Ma'am, every inspection we conduct is documented. If you're questioning our credibility, be my guest and take it up to the government. Take them away", Luke said, and walked out. 

Snap! Snap! Snap!

"Stop taking pictures!!" She shouted at the non-stop flashes.

"Not too fast, not too fast", Enrique pleaded with labored breathing at the men dragging him out because of his angry stomach. The man was growing paler by the minute.

It was her idea to allow in as many reporters as possible as a marketing technique. The thought of it now as she was taken in this humiliating moment left her feeling nausea-

Barf!! 

"Ewww!!" 

People pinched their noses in disgust seeing Mrs Rosario's gown stained with her vomit. The FDA showed no mercy and continued to drag her out.

"I should've known when I saw the kids fall sick."

"How heartless."

"They got a taste of their own medicine."

"Oh my gosh, we actually ate their food!!" 

A horrified scream was heard and thus chaos ensued. The Rosario's were taken by the FDA, people started to run out of the restaurant, and an angry crowd started to break everything in sight. Others who simply amgry at life took the opportunity to vent by trashing the place.

The Rosario staff fled for their lives, not wanting to be at the mercy of the angry crowd. The police were notified but they arrived in time to see the ruins of the former glory that was the Rosario restaurant.

News about the Rosario scandal spread like wild fire. In one night, the Rosario name was reduced to nothing but something to rile up people's anger. Everyone was talking about it and watching through live streams.

At high end bar

A certain figure clad in designer smart casual clothes holding a glass of some hard liquor sat at a private booth with friends while scrolling through the news on their phone.

Boisterous laughs were heard, glasses were clanked in a toast, and women coquettishly threw themselves in the men's arms. 

"Dude, what could be more important than this moment right now? Little Jessica is lonely!" His friend spoke feeling sorry for the ignored woman. With one hand caressing the woman in his arms, he beckoned with the other for Jessica. "Jess, come over. There's room for you!"

"Oooh! Tony you bad boy!" Jessica willingly threw herself in his arms.

"Dude, you're missing out!!" Tony told his friend. "I'm taking both!"

"Whatever, man", he muttered, drinking to himself and keeping his gaze on the news. The chaos of this magnitude at Trivedi could not have been handled without the owner's knowledge or in their absence. That means one thing. 

He scoffed at the realization, "So you're back, Kareena."