Nothing like this had ever happened before. But the moment Jake showed up, cars started getting clamped.

At the end of the day, this was all just a setup targeting me. I just didn't know what I'd done to offend him.

Was I supposed to pay him to unclamp my car every single time from now on? I refused to encourage this lawless behavior of his.

"Jake Gould, this is a matter of life and death," I said, my face hardening. "Unlock them right now! My wife sponsored you and even helped you find a part-time job so you could earn some money. She didn't do any of that just so you could make things difficult for me."

Jake looked at me with disdain. "What does Jen sponsoring me have to do with you? You're the one who's unwilling to pay the fees. How is it my fault?"

I was just about to respond when a familiar voice came from behind.

"What's going on?"

It was my wife, Jenna Hudgens. I immediately turned around, wanting to explain the situation to her, but Jake moved faster.

He rushed up to her, looking aggrieved, and complained, "Jen, does being sponsored by you mean I'm somehow inferior to others? I may be a security guard, but I still have my dignity. Mitch keeps humiliating me just because he's a homeowner here. Have I done something wrong?"

Hearing Jake downplay the situation, I hurriedly explained, "Jen, Mom suddenly collapsed. We need to rush her to the hospital right now. Jake clamped the ambulance, and he's charging 200 dollars per lock to remove them. Isn't that just ridiculous?

"Hurry and tell him to unlock them. Mom's already in bad shape. We can't afford any more delays."

I thought Jenna would be on my side. After all, the person lying in the ambulance was her own mother, and it was a life-or-death situation.

What I didn't expect, however, was that when she opened her mouth, it was to scold me.

"Mitch McLaren, what is wrong with you? This is Jake's first day as a security guard, so he's surely following orders from his superiors. Can you stop making things difficult for him?

"And besides, your mom looks to be in very good health. Why would she even need an ambulance? If you ask me, she's just bored."

For a second, I almost couldn't catch my breath. No wonder Jenna didn't seem worried at all. She thought the person who'd collapsed was my mother.

With someone backing him up, Jake immediately put on an aggrieved expression again. "Jen, tell Mitch that I'm just following the rules and regulations. If he wants the locks removed, he'll need to pay. Please don't make things difficult for someone who's just trying to do their job, okay?"

Jenna frowned and ordered me, "Did you hear that? If you want to take your mom to the hospital, then hurry up and pay him to have the locks removed. Stop causing trouble for no reason!"

My heart sank, and suddenly, I didn't feel like arguing with Jenna anymore.

It wasn't about the money—I had plenty of it. What angered me was Jenna and Jake's attitude.

Even though Kelly wasn't my mother, she had always treated me well. I gritted my teeth and stepped forward to transfer another 600 dollars to Jake.

"Can you unlock the clamps now?"

Jake gave me a small smirk, then quietly leaned in close to my ear and mocked, "See? You should've done this from the start, but you just had to go against me. Did you really think Jen would take your side?"

I felt something bubble inside me, but Kelly's condition mattered more. I didn't want to waste another second arguing with him, so I hurried back to the ambulance.

Kelly was Jenna's mother, after all, so I urged her, "What are you standing there for, Jen? Hurry up and get in!"

She shot me an impatient look. "You can just go by yourself. She's making such a big fuss over a little illness. She only knows how to trouble people."

"We really need to leave now. The patient's condition doesn't look good," Dr. Goldberg called out. "Let's go."

Trevor quickly started the ambulance and drove toward the exit. Just as we reached the main gate, the ambulance came to a sudden stop.

"Why did we stop? We need to leave," I said, panicking.

Trevor's exasperated voice came from the front. "We can't leave. The gate's been locked."

What?

I felt like I was about to fall apart. I'd just unlocked the clamps on the ambulance, and now the main gate was locked, too?

Trevor shouted toward the security booth, "What's going on with this complex? Open the gate right now! There's a patient in the ambulance who needs to be taken to the hospital right away!"

Jake sauntered over from a distance. "Stop shouting. I'm the only one on duty today. I'm the one who locked the gate."

I glared at him. "I already paid you. Why did you go and lock the gate now? This is an ambulance! An ambulance—do you even understand that? It's here to save a patient! Open the gate right now!"

But Jake only looked even angrier than I felt and shot me a glare. "So what if it's an ambulance? This is a residential complex. No one gets any special privileges. Everyone must follow the community's rules and regulations."

"Didn't we already follow your rules? So, why aren't you letting us out now?" I demanded, extremely anxious.

"Mitch, it's not that I don't want to let you out," he said with a sigh. "But when the ambulance arrived earlier, it didn't park in the designated spot. That's a violation of community regulations and requires a fine."

"You just need to pay the fine, and I'll open the gate for you."

I was beyond shocked. "Fine? I called for an ambulance inside my own residential complex, and now I need to pay a fine? I'm a homeowner here!"

"Who gave you the authority to issue fines?" I snapped again, anger surging through me. "I'm telling you right now—I'm not paying that fine! You'd better open that gate right now!"

The next second, his expression suddenly changed. His lips trembled, and he looked so wronged that he was about to cry.

"Jen, my supervisor, the head of security, said anyone who doesn't park according to regulations must pay a fine, or else he'll dock my wages.

"Even though you sponsor me, I don't want to keep spending your money. I'm really not deliberately targeting Mitch, but no matter what I say, he refuses to pay the fine. If I let him through, my supervisor will definitely punish me."

I turned around and realized that Jenna had followed us out at some point.

She shot me a look of disgust after hearing his words. "I followed you out here precisely because I was worried you'd bully Jake if I wasn't around. And sure enough, here you are bullying him. How can you be so vile?

"Jake's still so young. Why must you make things so hard for him?"

As she spoke, Jenna stepped forward and gently rubbed Jake's head, comforting him.

"Alright, don't be upset. Worst-case scenario, you can just quit. I'm more than capable of taking care of you. It really breaks my heart to see you always getting bullied."

Her voice was soft and tender, and she looked like she was feeling extremely bad for Jake.

A bitter ache spread through my chest.

Just then, Dr. Goldberg poked his head out of the ambulance again. "We really can't delay any longer. Your mom's complexion looks terrible, and we're running low on oxygen, too."

Even though I knew full well that Jake was lying, I really couldn't afford to waste any more time. With no other choice, I asked, "How much is the fine?"

"The fine is just 1,000 dollars," he answered meaningfully. "You're not going to tell me you can't bear to pay that either, right?"

I thought the 800 dollars for unlocking the clamps was already outrageous enough, but now, just for calling an ambulance, I was being fined another 1,000 dollars.

I looked at Jenna exasperatedly. "Do you still think I'm the one in the wrong here?"

"This just shows that our complex has great security measures," she answered unapologetically. "Besides, Jake already told you that these rules were set by the head of security. Stop making things difficult for him and just cooperate. What's the big deal?"

Jake added, "If you don't pay the fine, Mitch, I really can't open the gate for you."

But I clearly caught the flash of provocation in his eyes. And with Jenna standing beside him, firmly against me, I couldn't hold back any longer.

"Do you even know who the patient in the ambulance is?" I roared.

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Of course I do. But no matter who it is, you still need to cooperate with Jake. How could I bear to let the young man I sponsor suffer any grievances?"

"Okay, fine," I said, nodding and scoffing coldly, not wanting to say another word to her.

Just then, Dr. Goldberg shouted anxiously, "The patient has gone into cardiac arrest! If we don't get to the hospital right now, it might be too late!"

Trevor couldn't stand it anymore. He shouted at the stunned Jake, "Open the gate right now! If the patient really dies, you'll be going to prison!"

Jake's face immediately turned deathly pale. This time, I didn't have to say anything before he scrambled over to unlock the gate, his hands trembling.

"Why are you shouting?" Jenna continued to mutter in annoyance. "How can someone go into cardiac arrest that easily? I bet she's just faking it."

As she spoke, she walked over to the ambulance, probably wanting to check for herself. She casually glanced inside, and the next second, her whole body stiffened.

A scream unlike anything I'd ever heard before erupted from her.

"Mom? Why is it you?"