Chapter 9 - The Reckoning
Chloe did not waste time with internet arguments; she went straight to the top of the food chain.
She drove directly to Jason's massive, gated house in the wealthy suburbs, bringing Max with her.
She marched up to the front door and rang the doorbell repeatedly until Jason's father, Mr. Sterling, answered the door.
Mr. Sterling was a powerful corporate lawyer, dressed in an expensive suit and looking incredibly annoyed.
"Chloe, what on earth is going on?" Mr. Sterling asked, recognizing his son's classmate.
"Mr. Sterling, your son has committed cyber-defamation and is actively sabotaging a charity fund for a dying child," Chloe stated bluntly, holding out her phone.
She showed him the fake account, the IP address tracking she had managed to pull from a tech-savvy friend, and the horrific comments.
Mr. Sterling’s face turned bright red as he read the vile words his son had typed.
"Jason!" Mr. Sterling roared, his voice echoing through the massive mansion.
Jason sauntered down the stairs, but his arrogant smile vanished instantly when he saw Chloe and Max standing in his foyer.
"Care to explain this, Jason?" his father demanded, shoving the phone into his son's chest.
Jason stammered, his face turning pale with absolute terror as he realized he was caught.
"It was just a joke, Dad, I was just messing with him!" Jason pleaded, backing away from his furious father.
"A joke?" Mr. Sterling yelled, his professional demeanor completely shattered.
"You are jeopardizing a child's life and putting our family name at risk of a massive civil lawsuit for defamation!"
Mr. Sterling turned to Max, his expression shifting from rage to deep, sincere embarrassment.
"Max, I know about your sister's situation from the hospital board meetings," Mr. Sterling said softly.
"I am profoundly sorry for the monstrous behavior of my son."
Mr. Sterling pulled a sleek, black checkbook from his breast pocket and clicked his pen.
"The frozen funds will take time to release, but your sister does not have time," Mr. Sterling stated.
He quickly wrote out a check and handed it directly to Max.
Max looked down at the piece of paper, his hands trembling violently.
The check was made out to the hospital for exactly fifty thousand dollars.
"Consider this a donation from our family, and a deeply necessary lesson for my son," Mr. Sterling said, glaring at Jason.
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"Jason will also be volunteering at the pediatric ward every weekend for the rest of the year, starting tomorrow."
Max couldn't speak; he just clutched the check to his chest and fell to his knees on the marble floor, sobbing with overwhelming relief.
