My in-laws, Melvin Gardner and Sharon Murphy, kept it a secret from us and traveled all the way to Metoville to surprise their daughter, Vivian Gardner.

I brought them to the restaurant where Vivian worked as head chef, thinking she would give them a proper welcome and a great meal.

However, Vivian called over her favorite pretty-boy apprentice, Tyler Lambert, and had him handle a batch of wild-harvested oysters from the deep sea. These rare specimens were notorious because they may carry Tetrodotoxin if not purged with extreme precision—a high-stakes task that even the seasoned chefs usually avoided.

Tyler frowned and whined at her, "Oh come on, Chef, these oysters are so tricky to prepare. I'm not sure I can handle them..."

Vivian just laughed it off. "Just give them a quick rinse, and you're done. They're just a couple of old country folks. There's no need to fuss."

Melvin and Sharon ate the oysters. Within ten minutes, they were foaming at the mouth and collapsed on the table.

When Vivian rushed over, she did not even bother to look at the two elderly people. Instead, she was busy comforting Tyler, who had gone pale and fallen into her arms.

She said, "If they got food poisoning, send them to the hospital. But make sure they sign a liability waiver before they leave."

She glanced at me casually, her tone suggesting the poisoned elderly couple had nothing to do with her. "Your parents are from the countryside, so they're probably not used to city food. Don't try to pin this on the restaurant or Tyler!"

It hit me that she still had not realized the people who had collapsed at the table were her own parents.

I looked at her helplessly and confirmed, "Are you sure you want to clear 'Tyler' of all responsibility?"

Vivian Gardner clicked her tongue in irritation. "Ezekiel Stevens, are you deaf?!"

She snatched a printed "Food Safety Liability Waiver" from her assistant's hand and slammed it down in front of me. "Sign it now! Tyler's sensitive, so don't scare him!"

The apprentice in her arms, Tyler Lambert, was trembling.

He stole a glance at me, then said in a pitiful, tearful voice, "Vivian, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have tried to impress them. I'll take full responsibility, even if it means getting on my knees and begging for forgiveness."

Vivian immediately covered his mouth tenderly, showing a gentleness I never saw from her before.

"Don't say that! This has nothing to do with you. It's their own weak stomachs! Besides, unlike normal oysters, these oysters are high-end ingredients. It's normal for country folks like them not to be used to it."

I pointed at my in-laws, Melvin Gardner and Sharon Murphy, who were now convulsing on the table, and said slowly and deliberately, "Vivian, this isn't the time to assign blame. Call 911 and get them help!"

However, she acted like she heard the funniest joke in the world and sneered. "Get them help?"

She crossed her arms and did not even glance at the two elderly people desperately in need of medical attention. "Do you think the ambulance is free? You think getting their stomachs pumped at the hospital doesn't cost money? If you don't sign this waiver, I'm not paying a single cent! Let them go back to their village and see some backwoods doctor!"

As soon as she finished speaking, all the diners in the restaurant turned to stare at us in shock.

However, Vivian did not care at all. Instead, she raised her voice even louder and pointed her finger at my nose.

"Ezekiel, get this straight. This is my restaurant, and at Cloud Nine, I'm the one in charge! Your parents' lives are in my hands right now! If you don't sign this, they're dying right here!"

Tyler peeked out from behind her and shot me a mocking smile.

When I still did not move, Vivian lost her patience. She suddenly lunged forward and knocked over the wine glass on the table. After that, she grabbed my hand, dipped it in the spilled red wine, and forcibly pressed my fingerprint onto the bottom of the waiver.

"There. Now we're even." She flung my hand away in disgust.

Then, she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and vigorously wiped her hands, as if she touched something filthy. After that, she turned around and instantly became tender and sweet again when facing Tyler.

"Tyler, go to the hospital for me. Keep an eye on them and make sure they don't try to scam us. I have an interview with a food critic tonight, and I can't miss it."

She was not even willing to go to the hospital herself. I watched her walk away without looking back, then pulled out my phone and took a clear photo of the liability waiver she forced my fingerprint onto.

After that, I dialed 911.

I followed the ambulance in a panic and rushed Melvin and Sharon into the ER. In the vehicle, I frantically tried to explain the situation to the doctor.

"Oysters! They ate oysters!"

The doctor's expression turned grave, and he immediately began preparing for emergency treatment.

However, once we got to the ER, Tyler pushed ahead of me and grabbed the doctor's white coat. "Doctor, they just ate some not-so-fresh seafood. I saw what they ate. It was just some shrimp and shellfish. It probably caused severe food poisoning and an allergic reaction!"

He deliberately left out the most critical detail about the oysters.

The doctor glanced at his chef's uniform, hesitated for a moment, then chose to believe him.

He ordered, "Treat it as a severe food allergy and acute gastroenteritis first! Get the antihistamines and prepare for stomach pumping!"

Yet, after they started the IV, Melvin and Sharon's condition continued to deteriorate rapidly. They even began showing symptoms of nerve paralysis in their limbs.

The doctor in charge of the resuscitation was sweating profusely, muttering under his breath, "This isn't right. Allergic reactions aren't this severe."

Just then, the heart monitor let out a sharp, piercing alarm.

I could not take it anymore and shoved Tyler aside. I rushed to the doctor, shoving my phone with the photo in his face.

"They ate oysters! Raw oysters that weren't cleaned properly! Don't you understand?!"

The doctor looked at the photo of the poorly prepared oyster dish, and his face went white as a sheet. He immediately dropped the allergy medication and shouted for a specialist.

"Quick! Get anesthesiology and the ICU! Prepare the toxin antidote! The patient has tetrodotoxin poisoning!"

The entire ER erupted into chaos as doctors and nurses ran around frantically, preparing to rush the patients to the ICU.

Just as the medical team confirmed the treatment plan and was about to administer the critical life-saving drugs, Tyler, that bastard, suddenly "helpfully" spoke up again.

"Doctor! Wait a minute! I just remembered!"

He grabbed the doctor's arm with an urgent expression on his face. "I-I think I heard the patients mention something when they were chatting at the restaurant. T-They have severe allergic reactions to a lot of common medications!"

The busy, stressed medical staff immediately stopped what they were doing. To be safe, they had no choice but to perform an emergency allergen test on the two elderly patients.

This back-and-forth cost another full 30 minutes of critical rescue time.

I was shaking with rage, wishing I could strangle this lying piece of trash right then and there.

Just then, Vivian finally arrived after finishing her interview, fully made up and dressed impeccably. She did not even glance at the ICU warning lights as she walked straight to Tyler and pulled him into her arms, her face full of concern.

"Tyler, are you okay? Did they scare you? They didn't give you a hard time, did they?"

Tyler immediately acted like he found his protector and whined pitifully to her. He even pointed at me, his voice tearful. "Vivian, he was so mean just now. He kept yelling at me! I was so scared."

Vivian immediately cooed at him soothingly. "It's okay. Don't be afraid. As long as I'm here, no one can bully you."

Then, she turned and glared at me furiously. "Ezekiel, what's wrong with you?! Tyler came here out of the goodness of his heart to help, and you're taking it out on him?! He's just an apprentice, so what does he know? How does it make you a man to yell at him? If you have a problem, take it out on me!"

I looked at this absurd scene unfolding before me and felt completely heartbroken.

I practically shouted, "Vivian! Even if it's my parents lying in there, don't you care at all whether they live or die?!"

Vivian was startled by my yelling, then curled her lip in disdain and straightened the collar of her dress. "What are you making such a fuss about? Life and death are normal. What's so shocking about that!"

As soon as she finished speaking, there was a click. The red indicator light above the ICU suddenly went out.

The doctor walked out looking exhausted, pulled off his sweat-soaked mask, and shook his head heavily at me. "I'm sorry. We did everything we could. The two elderly patients missed the optimal window for treatment, and the toxins spread too severely to control."

My head buzzed, and I froze.

When Vivian heard this, not only did she show no trace of sadness, but she seemed to relax as if a burden was lifted, letting out a long sigh of relief. She took Tyler's hand, turned to leave, and her voice even carried a hint of cheerfulness.

"Well, they're dead now. It's got nothing to do with us anymore. Let's go. I don't want to stick around and catch whatever bad energy this place is giving off."

I handled Melvin and Sharon's funeral arrangements all by myself. I contacted the funeral home, ran through all the tedious paperwork, ordered the urns, and scheduled the cremation.

Throughout the entire process, Vivian did not call once. It was as if the deceased were just strangers who had nothing to do with her.

However, she posted something on her social media. It was a photo of her and Tyler at an upscale bar, with the caption: [Taking out the trash and welcoming a new beginning.]

At the crematorium, we already reached the stage where the bodies were about to be cremated.

Just then, Vivian showed up with Tyler and a few of her kitchen staff. She was wearing an expensive Chanel suit with flawless makeup, completely out of place with the solemn, sorrowful atmosphere.

She walked straight up to me and slammed a document in my face. "Sign it."

The paper cut my cheek, bringing a sharp sting. I picked it up and saw it was a divorce agreement.

The terms were outrageously harsh: I had to leave with nothing, and all my assets would go to her as compensation for her "reputational damage."

The reason given was that my parents died at her restaurant, causing damage to the establishment's reputation. It seriously impacted her career as an award-winning chef.

Vivian stood there with her chin raised arrogantly, her voice cold as ice. "I worked my ass off for ten years building my career. Cloud Nine was about to get its star rating, and then your two hick parents completely ruined it! Now, everyone online is saying my restaurant killed people! Do you know how much money I've lost? Do you know how badly my reputation has been damaged?"

She hissed, "This is all the bad luck your family brought! If you don't compensate me, who will?"

Tyler stood behind her, chiming in with a snide, mocking tone. "Ezekiel, Vivian's being very generous. Not making you pay damages is already pretty nice of her. Look at yourself. You have no money or connections. You're just dead weight hanging around Vivian. Don't you think you should have some self-awareness and leave? Stop dragging Vivian down!"

I was shaking with rage, staring at Vivian's heartless expression. "Vivian, do you have any conscience left?! My parents! No, your parents! They worked hard their whole lives for us. They came all this way to see you, and you killed them! Now you want me to leave with nothing? Is this how you treat them? Is this how you honor them?!"

"Shut up! Don't mention those two old geezers of yours in front of me!"

Vivily exploded in fury. She stepped forward, raised her hand, and slapped me hard across the face.

The sharp crack echoed as a burning pain spread across my cheek. "What right do you have to talk to me about conscience now? You're just a pathetic man who lost his parents!"

She signaled with her eyes, and the burly cooks behind her immediately stepped forward. They grabbed me like I was a rag doll and pinned me against the cold wall.

Vivian seized my hand, pried open my fingers, and forcibly pressed them onto the signature line of the divorce agreement. After it was done, she pulled out her handkerchief again and vigorously wiped her hands.

She picked up the agreement with my fingerprint on it, blew on the ink to dry it, and finally smiled with satisfaction.

She glanced at the bodies about to be pushed into the cremation chamber and said contemptuously to the crematorium worker nearby, "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and burn them. They're just two dried-up corpses with no value. Don't waste our taxpayers' electricity."

With that, she intimately linked her arm with Tyler's and strutted out.

After walking a few steps, Tyler looked back and gave me a mocking smile. I watched them disappear through the doorway, then slowly straightened up against the wall.

I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth, pulled out my phone, and called Melvin's brother, Felix Gardner.

"Felix, it's me, Ezekiel. The funeral's all arranged. I'll send you the location and time in a moment. You can notify the relatives to come to the funeral I'm holding for Melvin and Sharon."