After She Tried to Kill Dad, I Dumped Him

Chapter 4

After Derek posted the clarification through the restaurant's official account, he began pushing me out little by little. But he still refused to approve my resignation. Instead, he dumped every difficult client and demanding banquet onto me.

Meanwhile, with Derek backing her, Suki became more reckless by the day. She served tom yum soup loaded with bird's eye chilies to customers who could not handle spice. She used a bottle of 1982 Lafite like cheap cooking wine in beef bourguignon.

Complaints flooded in nonstop. Eventually, even Derek started considering moving her to the front desk.

But the moment he brought it up, Suki burst into tears. "Mr. Shaw, I know I'm not as talented as Claire..." she sniffled. "But I really want to become a chef. It's my dream."

Faced with her tearful expression, Derek gave in yet again and continued cleaning up after her.

Then one day, the restaurant welcomed an especially important guest. Edmund Carlton, one of the city's most influential food critics. The man was famous for his brutally demanding palate.

Derek treated the dinner like the opportunity of a lifetime. He personally came into the kitchen before service began, repeatedly reminding me not to make any mistakes. Of course, he also shoved Suki into the kitchen under the excuse of letting her gain experience.

Dinner service had gone smoothly so far, and only the final signature dish remained: steamed red grouper.

Suki suddenly moved closer to me, her eyes bright with anticipation. "Claire, let me finish the scallion oil drizzle tonight. I've practiced a lot."

I studied her for a moment before nodding.

The hot oil hissed as it cascaded over the fish, filling the kitchen with the rich aroma of scallions. Just as the server reached for the plate, a faint citrus scent drifted into my nose, instantly putting me on edge.

My chest tightened instantly. I grabbed a spoon and tasted the sauce. The bitter flavor hit first. Then numbness spread across my tongue.

My expression changed immediately. "This oil's contaminated!"

I spun toward the remaining scallion oil and saw several unfamiliar green leaves floating on the surface. They were not scallions at all, but oleander leaves.

My blood ran cold. Oleander was highly toxic. Once heated, the poison would seep directly into the oil. And every dish tonight had used the same batch.

I turned toward Suki so fast the chair behind me nearly tipped over. "Suki! Who told you to put this into the oil?"

She visibly flinched at my voice. "The leaves in the backyard smelled good," she stammered weakly. "I thought adding a little might improve the flavor..."

I could barely contain my fury. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Before she could answer, screams erupted from the private dining room.

"Mr. Carlton!"

"Oh my God! Someone call an ambulance!"

My mind blanked. I rushed out of the kitchen.

Edmund had already collapsed in his chair, unconscious, his lips turning purple. His son, Marcus Carlton, a well-known real estate tycoon in the city, held him upright while glaring at Derek with bloodshot eyes.

"My father came here for dinner," he roared, "How did he end up poisoned?"

Derek immediately pulled the trembling Suki behind him protectively. Then he looked straight at me. "It was Claire," he said coldly. "As head chef, she failed to properly supervise the ingredients and preparation process. This entire incident happened under her responsibility."

The accusation landed so smoothly it was obvious he had already decided who the scapegoat would be.

Suki immediately started crying harder. "Claire told me to do it that way..." she sobbed. "She said adding special leaves would make the aroma stronger... I shouldn't have trusted her so blindly..."

Marcus's stare felt sharp enough to cut flesh. "Gold-medal head chef?" he said through clenched teeth. "If anything happens to my father, I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life in prison." Then he called the police.

Watching them twist the truth so shamelessly right in front of everyone, I nearly laughed. Instead, I looked calmly at Derek.

"Funny thing," I said lightly. "After the temperature-controlled tank incident, I installed additional surveillance cameras throughout the kitchen."

His expression froze.

I continued slowly. "The footage uploads directly to cloud storage in real time. I guess we'll see what the police think after they review everything."

Derek's face instantly lost color.

But I wasn't finished. "Oh, and one more thing." I smiled faintly. "That equity transfer agreement you pushed me into signing? My lawyer already finalized the paperwork."

I paused just long enough to watch panic spread across his face. "The restaurant's legal ownership was transferred entirely to your name three days ago."

Then I met his eyes. "So tell me, Mr. Shaw. What exactly are you planning to do now?"