Ch 56 - The Hotdog Vendor

Cathy's heart fell when she heard what the police captain said. Her whole body trembled a little. Deep down, she knew that Billy was guilty. Three hundred and fifty thousand is a huge sum of money, she thought. If I have to pay it back, my life is ruined.

Hearing Billy still loudly protesting his innocence, Cathy, who had recovered a little from the shock, also started shouting at the top of her lungs, "It's not us, you guys are mistaken. It was that loser, Alex Ambrose, who stole the money. Let us go."

The louder she shouted, the more she convinced herself that she was innocent.

The police captain shook his head in wonder. "Take them away," he ordered.

The police officers escorted Cathy and Billy away.

Cathy was humiliated. She had never been that embarrassed in her life. In the past, she had always known that she was better than Alex and had enjoyed flaunting that in front of him. She felt sure that leaving Alex had been the wisest choice. But now, Cathy had completely forgotten that he even existed.

Cathy and Billy were roughly pushed out of the hall by the police officers.

Alex and Debbie looked at each other and felt relieved. It had been more than a month since the robbery, and their names had finally been cleared.

Towards the end of the banquet, Alex quietly patted Graham's shoulder, expressing his gratitude for the meal, for his loyalty, and all his hard work for the family.

Graham was overwhelmed by his words.

Before the banquet ended, Alex dragged Debbie out of the hotel.

They called a taxi and headed back to Preston University.

In the car, Alex called Ken Stokes. Now that Debbie knew his real identity, there was no need for him to keep anything hidden.

"Mr. Stokes, thank you so much for your gift," Alex said with a smile. He didn't believe that it could be a coincidence that Billy had been arrested on the very day that he and Debbie had returned to New York.

"Alex, you're too kind," Ken said respectfully. On the day Alex was sent to Harmony Island, Ken had contacted a friend in security, and within days, they had found concrete evidence of Billy's guilt. They delayed giving the evidence to the police because he wanted Alex to witness Billy taken away with his own eyes.

"I found out from security that they had already destroyed the Azure Dragon Society. I've also managed to get Miss Debbie reinstated at the university, so when the two of you return, you can both continue your studies."

"You've done a wonderful job, Ken." Alex was very satisfied. Ken had been so generous in his actions.

After getting out of the car at the south gate of the school, Debbie wanted to go and get some food at the street food market. Neither of them had eaten much at the banquet.

The food market was just opposite the south gate, and it didn't take them long to get there.

Indian and Thai food, Chinese pancakes, Mexican enchiladas, burgers, hotdogs—Every imaginable type of food was available. This was a great place for the students to get a snack.

Most of the vendors were from peasant families and were not well off. Their food stalls didn't earn much, but they were all they had to live on. 

"Let's go and get a hotdog," Alex said as they walked toward a hotdog stall. All the other stalls were crowded with customers except this one.

The food at this one probably wasn't great, but Alex and Debbie were both kinds. They knew these people had hard lives, and they wanted to support them.

"Hotdogs for both of you? What toppings would you like? Ketchup, pickles?" the vendor asked as they approached. They were her first customers of the day.

"One with ketchup and one with pickles please," Alex said to the vendor while Debbie took a step back.

Suddenly, Debbie cried out, "It's her!" Her eyes were fearful. She hadn't seen the vendor properly at first. Now that they were closer, she could see that it was Maddison Robbins.

Alex pulled Debbie to him and comforted her in a gentle voice. The last time they had met, Maddison had tried to drown Debbie in Ramsey Lake. It was not surprising that Debbie was now afraid of her.

Maddison quickly walked out from behind the trailer and stood in front of Debbie. She looked at her pleadingly and said, "I'm sorry, Debbie. I was wrong to treat you so badly. Please forgive me." 

The day she had attacked Debbie, she hadn't regretted it at all. Alex had threatened to make sure that her family disowned her, but at the time, she had been sure that he didn't have the power to do that.

However, since then, her uncle's Azure Dragon Society had been destroyed. Before she could even return home that day, her father had called her to completely sever all relations with her and took away all her money.

Maddison no longer had any financial resources, but she still needed to go to school. How could she live without money? She still dreamed of becoming rich, but now all she could do was borrow money to buy a small trailer and sell hotdogs.

She had been running the stall for twenty days but had hardly sold anything. She ended up eating most of the food she cooked.

Just a moment ago, she had been so pleased to have two customers. She thought that she could finally earn a few dollars, but she hadn't expected them to be Debbie and Alex.

Maddison was now very worried. She knew Alex had the power to destroy her uncle's business. How could she live with herself if this happened?

Alex hugged Debbie and whispered into her ear, "You can't get over it, can you? You're still really scared of her. All right, I know what to do."

He took out his cell phone and was about to call Ken Stokes. After living on the island for a while, Alex had gradually regained his confidence in his wealth and had started to act like any other rich student. Maddison and her family didn't matter to him at all.

Maddison's heart tightened. Alex is going to destroy me this time. Even if I beg for forgiveness, Alex won't let this go.

"No." Debbie suddenly grabbed Alex's hand and shook her head. "No, it's over."

When they were on the island, Alex had told Debbie that he was going to ruin Maddison and make her destitute. But now, looking at her kneeling on the ground, with her clothes covered in grease and the smell of cooking fat, Debbie felt that she had been punished enough.

"All right," Alex agreed and put away his phone.

"Thank you, thank you, you've been so kind. I will think of a way to repay you." Maddison was so happy that she was crying as she bowed her head. She was genuinely grateful and had no plans to take revenge on Debbie and Alex. She knew that she was beaten.

Alex told Maddison to stand up quickly so that other people wouldn't see her kneeling. She stood up hastily and made two hotdogs for Alex and Debbie. She wanted them to have the food for free, but Alex still paid her five dollars.

Holding the money in her hand, Maddison watched them leave. She was stunned. Tears flowed from her eyes. How had she been reduced to this?

She put the money into her pocket and began tidying up the hotdog stand, as she waited for the next customer.

Alex and Debbie returned to the school, where they attended a few classes. Afterwards, they bought some groceries and went to Debbie's villa.

They stayed together at the villa, although they slept in separate bedrooms.

**

Meanwhile, Cathy and Billy were leaving the police station.

Billy's father had agreed to bail him out, and the school had agreed to the bail terms. As long as Billy could return the money within a year, the school would not hold him accountable. 

"You little brat. How did we end up with you as a son?" Billy's father kicked his butt, then kicked him onto the ground and slapped him hard on the face.

"You think you're so smart? Think of a way to earn that money. This is your problem, and you have to get yourself out of it." Billy's father drove away after speaking those harsh words to him.

"Dad, Dad—"

Billy covered his cheeks and yelled after his father. All he got in return was a mouthful of pungent exhaust from the car.

He was on the verge of breaking down. Cathy was so scared that she started crying. three hundred and fifty thousand dollars. How were they ever going to pay it back?

"Stop crying." Billy looked at Cathy in annoyance.

"Okay, I've stopped. But it's late—already past ten. Shall we find a hotel to stay in?" Cathy said as she wiped her tears.

Billy pushed Cathy, and shouted, "Cathy, are you stupid? I only have a few dollars right now, and you still want to stay in a hotel? Just get lost."

Cathy had no money herself. She usually spent Billy's money.

"I was wrong, all right. Let's take a taxi back to school." Cathy knew that she had to tread carefully with Billy right now.

"Take a taxi? Do you know how much it costs to take a taxi back to school from here? It's over 30 dollars. Are you going to pay for it?" Billy stared at Cathy with a mean expression.

Cathy's lips trembled as she glared at him. She felt hurt by the way he was speaking to her, and when she looked at him now, he looked ugly to her.

"Come on, we'll ride bicycles back to the school." Billy grabbed Cathy's wrist and yanked her toward the row of rental bikes on the side of the road.

Cathy suddenly dropped Billy's hand and ran away from him. She waved to a taxi, jumped in, and headed toward the school.

Billy was furious. He cursed, "Cathy, you cow."

**

The next day, Debbie went to school early in the morning. She had missed a lot of classes this month, so had a lot of work to catch up on.

Alex got out of bed at 8 AM and took a leisurely walk to the school cafeteria. He planned to have breakfast and then go to the dormitory to catch up with Ben and the others.

While eating breakfast, Alex looked at his phone. Billy's photo was displayed on the front page of the school's official website. The story was all about the three hundred and fifty thousand dollars that he had stolen. 

Alex smiled as he listened to the other students commenting on the story.

"Isn't that Billy?" One of them asked.

"That's right. What's that scumbag doing here?" Another responded.

Alex followed their line of sight and saw Billy walking into the cafeteria. He walked toward a table where Cathy was slowly eating a bowl of oatmeal.

Even though Billy now owes this huge sum of money, it seems that Cathy is staying by his side and supporting him. She hasn't abandoned him. She must love Billy, and people should respect her for that, Alex thought to himself.

But suddenly he heard, "You whore!"

Billy had walked over to Cathy's table and slammed it with his fist. He pointed at Cathy and said, "Cathy, you bloody cow. How dare you run away from me yesterday. You're unbelievable. I can't believe that you just jumped in a taxi and ran away. Do you know how I got back? I had to ride a bike. My legs are knackered."

Cathy looked at the furious Billy with a small smile. When he finished shouting, she said quietly, "Let's break up."