"Fine, I'll wait," I said. "And stay away from me. You smell awful."

Brenda's face flushed red with rage. "You arrogant bitch, how dare you insult me!"

She raised her hand to slap me, but I stepped out of her trajectory and used her momentum to give her wrist a firm shove.

Brenda lost her footing and stumbled backward before landing with a heavy thud straight into the pool of wet paint on the floor.

Ashley immediately let out a piercing shriek. "She's assaulting us! She's trying to kill us!"

Turning to the camera, she sobbed like she had been horribly wronged. "Look at this, everyone! Not only is Emily Parker denying what her son did, but now she's physically attacking my aunt! Keep flooding the chat, everyone! Thank you for the galaxy!"

One of the punks holding the phone started reading the comments aloud.

"One user says call the cops on the witch! And another user says to doxx her, post her address everywhere, and they'll personally ship a funeral wreath to her front door!"

Brenda was throwing a full-blown tantrum on the floor, kicking and screaming in the paint.

The group of thugs instantly crowded around me.

"Alright, lady, you forced our hand," they snarled.

They pulled collapsible batons from their pockets and snapped them open, the sharp metal clicks echoing through the hallway.

I looked at them calmly.

"What's the plan here? Breaking and entering? Aggravated assault?"

The leader spat right onto the floor.

"Cut the crap! Hand over the deed to this place right now, or we're smashing this entire apartment to pieces!"

Brenda scrambled up from the floor, jabbing a finger at my face.

"That's right! Get the deed! Ashley, grab the Quitclaim Deed and make her sign it!" she yelled.

Ashley frantically dug into her bag and whipped out the contract. "Ms. Parker, sign it, and we'll leave you alone."

I didn't even deign to glance at the document. "And if I say no?"

Brenda scoffed. "No? Then you can say goodbye to having peace for the rest of your life! Boys, tear this place apart!"

The thugs swung their batons, violently smashing them against my security door and exterior walls, sending violent crashes echoing throughout the entire hallway.

The neighbors were so frightened that they rushed back into their apartments and slammed their doors shut.

I stood there, watching everything unfold without stopping them.

They could keep smashing things for all I cared.

The harder they smashed, the higher the property damage appraisal would be, and the longer their prison sentences would be.

Ashley held out the contract, putting on a fake, sympathetic act. "Ms. Parker, why are you being so stubborn? It's just an apartment. Your son is incredibly wealthy. He can always make the money back down the road."

I stared at her belly. "Are you sure that kid belongs to my son?"

Ashley's eyes darted away for a second, but she instantly recovered, raising her voice to a defensive screech. "What are you talking about? Of course it's Mr. Parker's baby!"

"Don't you dare try to slander my niece and flip the script on us!" Brenda added.

I smiled. "Is that so? In that case, are you two ready to march right down to a registered notary and perform a DNA test with me right now?"

Brenda planted both hands on her hips. "Didn't you hear what I said? We already did an amniocentesis. Stop trying to deflect, and just sign the deed over to us."

I shook my head. "You really thought you had this all figured out, didn't you? You can't even legally prove who fathered that child, yet you're trying to extort me for money."

Ashley's face went pale with panic.

"Stop slandering me!"

She pulled a lab report from her bag and shoved it in my face. "This is the paternity results for Mr. Parker and the baby. It's right there in black and white! It states that the probability of paternity is 99.9%."

I took the report from her, and when I saw the name "Jason Parker" printed across the page, I couldn't help laughing.

Brenda was visibly creeped out by my reaction, her voice turning sharp as she demanded, "What are you laughing at?"

Ashley hurried to back her up.

"Ms. Parker, you can deny it all you want, but science doesn't lie. That report was issued by a top-tier hospital. It even has the official seal right at the bottom!"

I held up the piece of paper, letting it flutter.

"Issued by a top-tier hospital, you say? You've never even met my son, so what exactly did you use as samples for the test? Do you think I'm too stupid to realize you paid some black-market agency to issue a counterfeit report?"

For a split second, panic flashed across Brenda's face, but she quickly puffed out her chest, forcing a look of righteous indignation.

"Bullshit! The report is real!" Brenda shrieked. "I already did my homework with the management's office. Your son's name is Jason Parker! Of course the DNA sample belongs to your son!

"Ashley made sure to keep a card up her sleeve. She secretly gathered strands of his hair from the hotel room specifically to run this test."

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing out loud.

"Wow, you guys really had it all thought out."

The thug was losing his patience, aggressively swinging his baton in the air.

"Alright, lady. Enough with the talking! Hurry up and sign the damn papers. You're holding me up from going out for drinks."

He reached for the report in my hand, but I sidestepped before he could touch it and slipped it into my pocket.

"I think I'll hold onto this. It's going to make a fantastic piece of evidence for extortion," I said.

Brenda went completely ballistic, her hands turning into claws as she lunged toward me. "How dare you steal my evidence! Get it back from her!"

The rest of the thugs surged forward simultaneously.

I quickly retreated into my apartment and reached for the security door, but one of them jammed his baton into the gap before I could pull it shut.

The guys outside threw their weight against the handle, pulling back hard. The metal frame let out a horrific, grinding screech.

Just then, a barrage of hurried footsteps echoed from the stairwell.

Robert Thompson, the head of the Homeowners Association, came rushing onto the floor, flanked by a few older neighborhood watch women.

"Stop it! Every single one of you, stand down right now!"

Robert was absolutely drenched in sweat as he forced his way to the front, pointing a finger at the thugs.

The second they saw him, they loosened their grip on the door and stepped aside.

Brenda didn't miss a beat. She threw herself at Robert's feet, crying a river of crocodile tears for her audience. "Mr. Thompson, you have to help us!"

Ashley dropped to her knees right beside her. "Mr. Thompson, I can't take it anymore! Maybe I should just take my own life!"

Robert looked at the glaring paint splattered across the walls, his brows pulling together.

"Emily, what exactly is going on here? Where is your son? Get him out here so we can settle this face-to-face!"

I calmly dusted myself off. "He's right inside."

Robert let out a heavy sigh. "Look, Emily, I've got to be honest with you. You can't run a household like this. Running away from your problems isn't going to fix anything."

Brenda shot me a smug look. "You heard him. Even Mr. Thompson is calling you out. Get your son over here right now! And while you're at it, sign over the deed to this penthouse!"

Ashley handed the contract over to Robert. "Mr. Thompson, look at the terms. We're being incredibly reasonable here, aren't we?"

Robert scanned the document, his expression souring.

"Signing over a luxury penthouse apartment, plus half a million dollars in cash? Don't you think that's a bit excessive?"

"How is that excessive?" Brenda shrieked, her face turning ugly.

Robert turned back to me. "Emily, maybe you should just meet them halfway and pay them some kind of settlement."

I looked at him, then slowly turned my gaze back to Brenda.

"Mr. Thompson, are you sure you want my son to come out here and settle this face-to-face?"

Brenda screeched at the top of her lungs, "Yes! Get him out here! I want to see what that pathetic little deadbeat looks like!"

The thugs joined in, laughing and egging her on, while Ashley kept her eyes glued to the bedroom door.

"Ms. Parker, stop protecting him. If he doesn't walk through that door right now, I swear I'll make a scene you'll never forget!"

The punk handling the phone started reading the livestream comments aloud.

"After all the buildup, that scumbag is finally making an appearance!"

"Everyone, get your screenshots ready! Let's cancel this jerk once and for all!"

I nodded. "Alright. Since you're all dying to meet him, I'll give you exactly what you asked for."

I turned around and walked toward the guest bedroom, resting my palm against the knob.

Everyone waited with bated breath, their eyes glued to the door as Brenda thrust her phone camera into the crack.

"Look closely, everyone! The deadbeat is about to show his face!" she yelled. "Once we hit a hundred thousand likes, I'm personally delivering ten slaps right to his face!"

Ashley pretended to fix her hair, blinking back a fresh wave of tears as she stared at the door, her voice dropping to a delicate purr.

"Mr. Parker, you're finally coming out to see me."

I turned the knob.

With a sharp click, the door swung inward. I let out a sharp whistle. "Jason, come out. You've got company."