Chapter 248 The Most Correct Decision Made in This Life
"Trying to cause trouble here?" Cecilia's voice was cold, cutting through the noise of the hall.
"You can try."
Her composure made the men who were about to make a move pause for a moment.
The leader looked Cecilia up and down, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt. "So the person in charge finally shows up, huh? Miss, you are pretty, but not too bright. We came here to make trouble today. What are you gonna do about it?"
"Make trouble?" Cecilia smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "Fine. But before you do, I suggest you take a look at this."
She held up her phone, the screen clearly playing a video. The video had been recording since they walked in, capturing everything — how they ordered, how they secretly took something from a pocket and tossed it into the bowl, then how they made a big scene. It was all crystal clear.
Cecilia even zoomed in on the video. In the frame, the buzz-cut man pulling a dead roach from his crumpled pocket was perfectly visible.
"Now, we have both witnesses and evidence." Cecilia put away her phone, looking at the buzz-cut man whose face had turned pale in an instant. "So, do you want me to press charges for extortion? Or would you rather get out of here right now?"
The thugs behind the buzz-cut man saw the video and panicked, too. They were just doing a job for money — they had not expected to end up in jail.
"Boss, what do we do?" one of his guys asked quietly.
The buzz-cut man's expression kept changing. He had not expected this seemingly delicate young woman to be so careful and decisive.
Just as he was caught between a rock and a hard place, his phone rang.
He glanced at the number, his face lighting up with relief, and quickly moved to a corner to answer it.
"Hello, Mr. Chapman... Yes, there is a bit of... Right, we got caught on video... Yes, we understand, we will leave right away!"
After hanging up, the buzz-cut man immediately relaxed.
He glared viciously at Cecilia, then waved to his men. "Let's go!"
The group came fast and left even faster, disappearing through the door in no time.
The restaurant returned to quiet. The diners looked at Cecilia with newfound respect in their eyes.
This young female owner was not someone to mess with.
The floor manager immediately directed the servers to clean up the mess and apologized to all the frightened customers, announcing that today's meals were on the house.
This gesture instantly won everyone's favor. A crisis had turned into a successful PR move.
Cecilia comforted her shaken parents, then turned and walked into the empty break room.
As soon as she closed the door, a call came in from an unknown number.
She glanced at it, pressed answer, but did not speak.
On the other end, Rufus's cold voice came through, tinged with amusement.
"Amelia, you solved that problem so quickly. You really are the woman I chose."
"Rufus." Cecilia's voice was emotionless. "You are pathetic. Besides these cheap tricks, what else can you do?"
"Cheap tricks?" Rufus laughed softly on the other end. "No, Amelia, this is not a trick; it is a warning. I just want you to understand that Stefan cannot give you a stable life. As long as you are with him, things like today will keep happening. You, your parents — you will all live in fear."
His voice suddenly became gentle, but that gentleness made Cecilia's skin crawl.
"Come back to me, Amelia. I will protect you well and will not let anyone hurt you. This restaurant — if you do not like it, we will close it. I will open a hundred, a thousand for you, as long as you are happy. Your parents — I will send them to the best retirement place in the world, let them enjoy their golden years."
"Are you dreaming?" Cecilia interrupted him, her voice full of mockery. "Rufus, put away that self-serving talk. It just makes me sick. You think you are protecting me? No, you just want to lock me in another cage you built. Let me tell you, I am not the Cecilia you could control anymore."
"What you did today did not scare me at all. Instead, it made one thing clearer to me." Every word Cecilia spoke was ice-cold and cutting. "That leaving you and choosing to work with Stefan was the best decision I have ever made in my life."
"You!" On the other end, Rufus's breathing became noticeably heavier — he was clearly enraged.
"And," Cecilia continued, "I would advise you not to mess with me again, and especially do not touch my parents. Otherwise, I do not know what I might do."
"Rufus, you already ruined my life once. I have nothing left, nothing to lose. But you are different — you have a big family business. You would not want to see the Chapman Group pay the price for your stupid actions, would you?"
With that, she did not wait for Rufus to respond. She hung up directly and blocked the number.
Leaning against the cold wall, Cecilia realized her back was soaked with sweat.
Cecilia was not afraid of Rufus, but she was afraid he would hurt her family.
Robert and Mabel were honest, ordinary people. They could not handle this kind of trouble.
Stefan pushed the door open and saw her pale face. He pulled her into his arms with concern.
"All taken care of?" he asked gently.
"Yes." Cecilia buried her face in his chest and answered in a muffled voice.
"It was Rufus." Stefan used a statement, not a question.
"Yes."
"Do not be afraid." Stefan tightened his arms around her. "I have already had Garth handle it. Those guys who came to cause trouble today — none of them will get away. As for Rufus, he will soon receive a big gift that will keep him too busy to bother you for a while."
Cecilia looked up and saw a sharp glint in his eyes. She knew Stefan meant what he said.
Sure enough, the next few days were peaceful.
"Martinez's Diner" became even more popular because of the incident on opening day. Many people came out of curiosity, but without exception, they were won over by the taste of that bowl of noodles and became regular customers.
Every day, long lines formed outside the restaurant, becoming a unique sight at Red Maple Financial Center.
That afternoon, Cecilia was in her office checking the accounts when the floor manager knocked on the door in a panic.
"Ms. Martinez, this is bad. She... she is here."
Cecilia frowned. "Who?"
"Anna!"
Cecilia put down her pen, her eyes instantly turning cold.
She walked out of the office and looked down from the second-floor railing. Sure enough, she saw Anna.
After the Clark family went bankrupt, Anna had disappeared for a long time.
Now she reappeared, still wearing designer brands, but looking haggard, her eyes full of resentment and unwillingness.
She was accompanied by a few old friends. The group sat in the most visible spot in the hall. Though they were not speaking, their critical, disdainful expressions had already made the surrounding atmosphere tense.
Cecilia could not figure out Anna's purpose and was about to go downstairs when she saw the restaurant door open again.
When she saw clearly who came in, Cecilia's pupils contracted slightly.
It was Stefan, with Dione behind him.