The Neighborhood Lunatic Who Sued Me Over a Cold

My neighbor, Brenda, worked late and asked if I could pick up her son, Timmy, along with my own kid from school. I didn't think much of it. It was on my way, so I agreed. Who knew that just a few days later, her son would catch a cold, and she'd start bombarding my phone with texts. [My son definitely caught a cold on the ride home in your car. You need to take full responsibility.] [The medical bills are $500. From now on, we’re going to hire a private car service to drop him off, and you’re paying for that too. I’ll give you a discount, just send me $3,000.] I was so furious I immediately blocked her. She panicked, showed up at my office building with a giant protest banner, and started screaming that I harmed her son and was refusing to pay up. Without a second thought, I called the local psychiatric hospital: "Hello? My neighbor is suffering from a severe psychotic break. I really hope you can come take her in for treatment." 1 That day, when I picked up my son, Leo, from school, he told me that Brenda's kid, Timmy, had a fever and was taken to the hospital. They lived in the apartment building right across from ours, so I figured I’d put together a fruit basket and go check on him later. I was literally washing the fruit when my phone started blowing up with texts from Brenda. [Chloe, you are so incredibly malicious. I just asked you to pick up my son one time, and you actually made him catch a cold!] [Do you know how fragile my son's health is?! Because of your negligence, my son is sick, and you must take full responsibility!] [If this leaves any lasting damage on his health, I'm never letting this go!] The next second, she sent me photos of Timmy's hospital bills and test results. They had even done a CT scan of his brain. [You are paying for all his medical bills at the hospital. It totals $500. To make sure my child doesn't get worse, you are going to hire a private car service to take him to and from school from now on. I won't make you pay the full amount. I’ll give you a discount. Just Venmo me $3,000.] I stared at my phone, completely baffled. I had picked Timmy up four days ago. Plus, the temperature had dropped significantly lately; kids catching a cold was totally normal. I took a deep breath and replied: [Brenda, please calm down. I know you're anxious because Timmy is sick. But you can't just randomly push the blame onto me. You asked me for a favor, and I agreed because it was on my route. It's been days, how can you possibly blame me?] Brenda stopped typing and just started sending voice memos, screaming at me. "What do you mean 'randomly push the blame'?! My mom picked Timmy up the last two days, and there's no way she let him get cold. She practically shields him with her own body! Colds have an incubation period. It was definitely your lack of care the day you picked him up that made him sick!" "Listen here, Chloe, don't think you can weasel out of this. You are going to take full responsibility for my Timmy! I went through three years of IVF to have my precious baby boy! If he has any long-term effects from this cold, I will make you pay!" Lack of care? That day, I specifically turned the car heater on ahead of time and even brought a thermos of warm water for them. When we got to his building, his grandmother wasn't home yet, so I didn't even let him get out of the car. I stayed in the car with him and waited until his grandmother got back. I had gone above and beyond. Brenda saying this was incredibly insulting. [Brenda, you need to speak with a conscience. You asked for a favor, and I did my absolute best. Furthermore, the weather has been fluctuating wildly. It's highly likely Timmy just caught a chill at your own house.] Brenda immediately started cursing: "Screw you! My entire family treats this boy like a prince. He only eats organic vegetables. From the day he was born, he hasn't so much as sneezed! You take him in your car one time and he catches a cold. It's obviously your fault! I'm telling you, you have to pay this money, otherwise, I am going to make your life a living hell!" She really was mentally ill. I replied: [I think Timmy isn't the sick one here, you are! I was being nice by helping you pick up your kid, but no good deed goes unpunished. I don't have time to argue with your delusions. Blocked!] After sending that, I blocked Brenda's number. There was no reasoning with people like her. I handed the washed fruit to Leo. After this, I was going to cut all ties with her. But I never expected that the very next day, she would show up outside my office building with a massive protest banner. 2 I was in the middle of a meeting when I heard a commotion outside my office. Everyone was crowded around the floor-to-ceiling windows. My assistant ran in and said, "Bad news, Ms. Davis. There's a woman downstairs with a banner claiming you harmed her son. Half the company is down there watching." A woman? Could it be Brenda? I got up from my chair and looked down. Sure enough, it was Brenda. She had unfurled a massive banner right in front of the main entrance of our corporate building. It read: "CHLOE DAVIS HARMED MY SON AND REFUSES TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. PEOPLE LIKE HER DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!" She was holding a megaphone and screaming into it: "Chloe! Don't think just because you blocked me I can't do anything! I'm going to block the entrance to your company and make sure everyone sees exactly what kind of monster you are!" "You made my son sick, you refuse to pay his medical bills, and you won't even apologize! Are you even human?!" The crowd of onlookers was growing. My assistant suggested I go down and handle it. I turned around, sat back in my chair, took out my phone, and called the local psychiatric hospital. "Hello? My neighbor is suffering from a severe psychotic break. I really hope you can come take her in for treatment." Then I called the non-emergency police line: "Hi, there's a mentally unstable person causing a disturbance outside our corporate building. Could you please send someone to handle it?" After making those two calls, I told everyone to sit back down so we could continue the meeting. But ten minutes later, Brenda's screaming reached the executive floor. "Chloe! Don't think you can hide from me! You are going to pay me for Timmy's medical bills today! Also, even though Timmy is home, he needs to rest, so he can't go to school for the next few days. I had to hire a private tutor, which costs $200 a day, until he's fully recovered. On top of that, you have to pay for his nutritional supplements during this period. Just give me $5,000 for that." "The weather is getting cold, and since he's been sick, his immune system isn't what it used to be. He definitely needs a private car service now. You'll cover the first two months. Add all of that up, and you can just write me a check for $15,000." Brenda was currently standing aggressively outside the conference room door. She had literally hung her banner on our glass door so everyone could see it. It was hilarious she could even say those words with a straight face. My best friend is a pediatrician, and she actually happened to be Timmy's attending doctor. She told me Timmy just had a common cold with a slight fever. He was perfectly fine after getting some fluids that night. But Brenda refused to let him be discharged. She insisted he had "long-term effects" and dragged the poor kid through a full-body workup. Timmy was already tired from the cold, and all the unnecessary tests made him pass out from exhaustion. So, they kept him for one night for observation, but he was completely recovered now. Even then, Brenda threw a fit and refused to leave. The hospital director actually had to step in and have them escorted out. I scoffed coldly. "Your son is already home, which means he's perfectly fine. Where do you get the nerve to demand this much money from me? Let me tell you right now, I am not giving you a single dime. Furthermore, I am currently in the middle of a very important business meeting. If you delay our company's business, you will be held liable for the losses. Not much, just about $5 million." When Brenda heard "$5 million," her eyes bugged out. The next second, she spat at me. "Ptoey! You want me to pay you?! Keep dreaming! Right now, the most important thing is my son. My son is a future genius. His dream is to become a famous entrepreneur. He's definitely going to be more successful than you! But now, because of the illness you gave him, his brain might be damaged, which means he might not become a famous entrepreneur! You have to take responsibility for that loss! Asking you for $15,000 is a bargain! Pay up right now!" 3 I just let out a cold laugh and didn't bother replying. Seeing my indifferent attitude, she dramatically collapsed onto the floor and started wailing. "Look at this, everyone! This woman harmed my son and refuses to pay! Is there anyone more evil in this world?! I went through three years of IVF to have my son! What am I going to do if something happens to him?!" "Oh, my poor baby! You're only in elementary school and you've already been poisoned by someone! What's going to happen to your future?!" The way she was crying, you'd think her son had actually died. The people who had been watching downstairs had all migrated up to our floor. She was crying her lungs out. The onlookers were starting to look at me with increasingly unfriendly eyes, but since I was the General Manager, they didn't dare say anything out loud. They just whispered among themselves. But wait, our building has security access. Who let her up here? While I was pondering this, my workplace nemesis, Sarah, walked over and started laying into me passive-aggressively. "Chloe, how can you be so malicious? You're the General Manager; you should be setting an example. You're a mother yourself. How could you harm someone else's child? Children are a gift. Watch out, or karma is going to come for your own son." Her lackeys immediately chimed in: "Vice President Sarah is right. Someone like this isn't fit to be a General Manager. Who knows if she might harm us next!" Seeing someone take the lead, the crowd started speaking up: "I never expected GM Davis to be so vicious. You really can't judge a book by its cover." "That poor mother. GM Davis, hurry up and give her the money. Are you waiting to be struck by lightning?" "A child is a mother's heart and soul. GM Davis really crossed the line here. I don't think she's qualified to be GM anymore. I think Sarah is a much better fit." Hearing the praise, Sarah lifted her chin proudly. She stepped forward to help Brenda up, but she was still lecturing me. "Chloe, look how pitiful this mother is. Stop acting so high and mighty with your GM title. Don't you have any sympathy?" I sneered. "If you have so much sympathy, why don't you write her a check? It's just $15,000. That's nothing for a Vice President, right?" Sarah panicked. "Are you crazy, Chloe? You're the one who harmed her kid. Why should I pay for you?! Everyone, don't let her get away with this! We can't stay silent just because her title is higher than ours! We have to bring her to justice!" At her rallying cry, the people around us started shouting: "Yeah! Give her the money! You're both mothers, put yourself in her shoes!" "You're a General Manager, don't tell me you can't afford $15,000." Seeing everyone taking her side, Brenda cried even louder. "My poor baby! You were living such a happy life, and now this bitch made you sick! What if you have permanent side effects? Your whole life is ruined!" Sarah put on a show of holding Brenda's hands. "It's okay. Whatever happened, just tell us. I'll take you to see the CEO. You can expose Chloe's evil nature directly to him, and I guarantee she won't survive in this company anymore." Brenda, completely buying into it, started to follow her. Sarah thought I would be scared, but I had actually texted the CEO a long time ago. They hadn't even taken two steps before they saw the CEO standing right there. He had witnessed everything that just happened. 4 Sarah immediately started sucking up to him. "Mr. CEO, look at this. Chloe hasn't even been GM for that long, and she's already brought this kind of scandal to our doorstep. It's terrible for the company's image. And look how pitiful this mother is. We're all women, shouldn't we be understanding of each other?" Brenda stepped forward and pointed a finger directly at the CEO. "Are you her boss? Then you need to make your employee pay me right now, or I'm going to expose you all online! Don't blame me if your company's reputation gets ruined." Sarah chimed in: "Mr. CEO! We can't let one bad apple like Chloe ruin our entire corporate image! I say we fire her immediately to set an example!" The CEO ignored Sarah and Brenda. Instead, he looked at me and said calmly, "Chloe, I'll give you a chance to explain." I calmly turned to Brenda. "You've been screaming for twenty minutes, but you still haven't gotten to the point. What exactly did I do to make your son sick?" Brenda craned her neck and yelled, "He caught a cold!" The whispering in the crowd abruptly stopped. Even Sarah's face changed. "My son hasn't had a single fever since the day he was born! But 6 days ago, I had Chloe pick him up once, and yesterday he had a fever and was hospitalized! Isn't that her fault?!" The more she spoke, the quieter the room got. Everyone was looking at Brenda like she was an absolute idiot. Gritting her teeth, Sarah stepped forward to salvage the situation. "A cold might be a minor thing, but if Chloe really caused it, she still needs to take responsibility." Now Brenda was the one panicking. "My son catching a cold is NOT a minor thing! He's going to go to an Ivy League school! One cold could impact his entire life! From the day he was born until now, that was the one night I wasn't there to take care of him, and Chloe harmed him! You all have to give me justice!" Sarah finally realized that Brenda was a complete lunatic. She rolled her eyes and shut her mouth. The CEO turned to me. "Resolve this quickly, then come back to the meeting. You're the only one who can handle this account." With that, he turned and walked away without looking back. Sarah covered her face and tried to slip away, but I grabbed her arm. "Where are you going? I thought you were the champion of justice? Brenda is still waiting for you to get justice for her. You're not going to go back on your word, are you?" Seeing Sarah trying to leave, Brenda grabbed her too. "You can't leave! You promised you'd help me get justice! If you leave, I'll expose you online too!" Sarah violently shook Brenda off. "Are you crazy?! A kid doesn't die from catching a cold! I was trying to speak up for you, why are you coming after me?!" Brenda grabbed Sarah's arm in a death grip, refusing to let her move. "What do you mean a kid doesn't die from a cold?! My son had a fever of 99.5! And your CEO is gone, you're the only Vice President left here! Who else am I supposed to talk to?! You spoke up for me, so you have to see this through! If Chloe won't pay me, then I have to get it from you. It's your fault for being her coworker." Hearing this, I burst out laughing. Sarah had tried to use this opportunity to tear me down in front of the CEO, but ended up trapping herself instead. "Chloe! You started this mess! Fix it!" Sarah yelled. I mocked her. "Weren't you going to bring me to justice? How can you say that? Brenda is waiting for you to preside over this." Sarah was going insane. She yelled at her lackeys: "Are you all just going to stand there and watch?! Help me!" But everyone was terrified Brenda would latch onto them next. Nobody stepped forward to help Sarah; in fact, they all took several steps back.

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