Koyama no Kousagi

The Hand that Feeds 1-12

Y/n: "Mr. Green, you..."

You and Luke are both surprised by Vernon's sudden confession that he was the one who broke the CCTV camera.

Luke: "Mr. Gree, you knew from the start that the food poisoning incident was deliberately caused by someone, didn't you? And that someone is none other than Pedro."

Vernon walks to a table and sits down without saying a word.

Winnie: "Grandpa Vern, why are you still trying to protect that ungrateful scum!? You've been too kind to him. YOu give him an inch and he takes a mile!"

Luke: "Winnie, what did Mr. Green tell you?"

Winnie silently looks at Vernon with an irate expression on her face, then turns away, biting her lip. Other than a long sigh, Vernon shows no sign of wanting to tell you the truth. His strange behavior reminds you of the family photo and Pedro's photo on the bookshelf.

Y/n: That's it! Pedro's the one who looks like the boy in the photo! Could that be the reason why Mr. Green's hiding the truth...? "Mr. Green, forgive me if what I'm about to say is too personal. We had found photos of your family and Pedro on the bookshelf... ...Are you protecting him because he resembles your son...?"

Vernon looks up at you in surprise, and then lets out another long sigh.

Vernon: "How did you know...?"

You hand Vernon the photo you found on the bookshelf.

Y/n: "The boy in this photo is your... son?"

Vernon: "Yes... He was our only child Peter."

Y/n: "What happened...?"

Vernon: "27 years ago, Peter was 18. He had just been accepted to Stellas University, his dream school. He wanted to celebrate by going on a trip. It was a happy occasion, but... there was a car accident... Peter never returned. Penny and I started helping impoverished students to cope with our loss. It feels like Peter's dream of university lives on through them and their hard work. However, Penny never recovered from our son's death. She passed away two years later..."

Y/n: "I'm so sorry, Mr. Green..."

Vernon: "Penny loved to cook and left behind a recipe book. I quit my job and opened this restaurant so people can enjoy her cooking. Pedro was a part-timer here. He wanted to work while studying for college. He really reminded me of Peter. Every night, I saw him studying in the kitchen after work. I couldn't help but want to give him a hand. To me, he's different from all the other students I sponsored.

Luke: "Sounds like the Pedro back then was a good and honest person."

Vernon: "Of course! It's not his fault that he poisoned the water. DeliCart forced him to do it!"

Y/n: "DeliCart forced him? How do you know?"

Vernon: "It all began when he started working for that company last year..."

~Flashback~

Pedro: "Grandpa Vern, you gotta help me... They're gonna fire me!"

Vernon: "Pedro, what happened to you?"

Pedro kneels before Vernon, butterfly sobbing. His cheeks are swollen and purple palm prints are visible on his skin. He was obviously beaten.

Vernon: "Who did this to you!? I'll calll the police right now!"

Pedro: "No, don't call the cops. I did this to myself."

Vernon: "To yourself!? Why would you..."

Pedro: "I was $70,000 away from my monthly target, so I had to slap myself 50 times in front of my team... The company called it a "motivation boost." If I didn't slap myself hard enough, they were gonna reduce my salary for not reflecting on my mistakes.

Vernon: "That's ridiculous! It's illegal fo your company to do this! Pedro, quit right now! We'll sue them!"

Pedro: "Granpa Vern, I can't quit! You don't know how hard it is to find a job right now. I finally graduated from college... I can't go back to doing manual labor. I didn't last long in my previous jobs. If I quit again, no company's gonna hire me! I don't wanna go back to my hometown, not that backwater place... I want to stay in the city..."

~End of Flashback~

Y/n: "What DeliCart did was absolutely ilegal! He should've listened to you and resigned, and then sued them."

Vernon: "Pedro was afraid of poverty, so he wanted to advance his career. I understand that. I was shocked at the time and just wanted to help him. He asked me to purchase DeliCart's membership at $300 a month. I agreed and considered it as continued support for him."

Luke: "That was the beginning, wasn't it? Pedro started pushing you to spend more money on things like their premium membership."

Vernon: "That's right... Their premium membership is $4,500 a month, and advertising is even more expensive. I really can't afford it. My refusal put more pressure on him to meet his sales target. This pushed him down the crooked path. This is all DeliCart's fault. Their go-to tactics are review-bombing and hiring people to stir up trouble. The restaurant next door fell victim to this."

Y/n: "How come the restarunt owners never teaed up to file a lawsuit together?"

Vernon: "We have no evidence... Word has it that DeliCart has powerful backers. Everyone online is on their side, and I could only watch as Pedri learned their evil ways... To tell you the truth by the time the Food Saftey Bureau let, I knew it was Pedro who did it, but..."

Luke: "That's why you watched the tanks, cleaned up the insecticide, and even destroyed the CCTV camera... All of this was to protect him. How are you so sure that it was Pedro?"

Vernon: "I..."

Winnie: "Grandpa Vern! If you let Pedri get off easy, your restaurant will be driven out of business because of this incident! Then no one can enjoy Granny Penny's food..."

Vernon: "I has considered bringing this matter to light, but I don't want Pedro to go to jail. He's just young and naive. If he goes to jail, his whole life would be ruined!"

Luke: "Mr. Green, the only way to set him back on the right path is too put DeliCart to justice, don't you agree? This poisoning cae can be the first stepp in unraveling DeliCart's Crimes. As long as Pedro can testify against them..."

Vernon: "You don't get it! I never thought of that, but we can't afford to mess with that company!"

Y/n: "You didn't stop us from investigating, though. A part of you wants the truth to come out, doesn't it? If Pedro's willing to cooperate, I can defend him in court–"

Vernon: "Miss, you're a lawyer, aren't you? I realized it a while ago. You hid your identity probably because Winnie told you that I didn't like lawyers..."

You didn't even realize what you said until right now.

Y/n: "I'm sorry, Mr. Green..."

Vern: "Actually, I'm not against hiring a lawyer. I'm only afraid that Pedro will get in trouble. I thought that nothing will turn up in your investigation since I cleaned everything. If it'd give Winnie peace of mind or lower the compensation payout, that'd be enough... I underestimated your abilities and Winnie's persistence. I told Winnie everything while everything while we were upstairs. She tried to change my mind, but... I know you're all doing this for me, but I really can't bea the thought of Pedro in prison... I'm sorry, but you should head back."

Vernon turns around and starts going upstairs. You open your mouth to say something when the restaurant's door suddenly swings open. Who would be here at this time? You look toward the front door and... It's Pedro.

Y/n: "Hmm?"