Chapter Two

Chloe’s POV

【Emma: Can’t wait! Mia actually knows how to get things done. Unlike some people who act all high and mighty while trying to make money off us.】

I read the message but didn’t respond.

I started a screen recording and captured the entire conversation, including the flyer Mia had posted.

Then I saved the video to a cloud folder.

【Chloe: Since everyone has made their choice, I’m handing all food arrangements over to Mia. I’m stepping away from the job.】

After sending the message, I locked my phone.

The room fell silent again.

I walked to the refrigerator, took out a bottle of sparkling water, and twisted off the cap.

I took a sip and gave a humorless laugh.

Fifteen dollars for enough meat to last three days and two nights in the wilderness?

I wanted to see exactly what kind of surprise they were in for.

The next morning, I skipped my first class.

Sitting at my desk, I opened my laptop and typed in the name printed at the bottom of Mia’s flyer.

Sunshine Foods.

I wasn’t the type to stick my nose into other people’s business.

But I was obsessive about details, and fifteen dollars simply didn’t add up. There was no way that price could cover so much food.

I logged into my family business’s internal database. Then I used a lawyer friend’s account to access the state court’s public case search system.

I entered “Sunshine Foods” into the search bar.

Then I hit Enter.

Rows of red entries filled the screen.

As I scrolled through them, my expression hardened.

The food-processing plant was located in a small town near the state line. Over the past three years, it had been cited for eleven health-code violations.

The most recent lawsuit had been filed the previous month.

A discount grocery chain alleged that Sunshine Foods had supplied it with reconstituted meat patties that tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. Dozens of customers had developed severe diarrhea and been hospitalized.

According to the Secretary of State’s business records, the company’s registered owner had the same last name as Mia.

This wasn’t some special deal from a relative.

It was substandard inventory her family couldn’t sell and was supposed to destroy.

She was using the club to unload inventory her family couldn’t sell, while still charging each of us fifteen dollars.

I took screenshots of the court records and their case numbers, the health department citations, and the positive lab report.

At noon, when everyone would be eating lunch and checking their phones, I posted the screenshots directly in the GroupMe chat.

【Chloe: @Mia, this is the supplier behind your “special deal.” Sunshine Foods is facing multiple food-safety lawsuits over spoiled meat and meat that tested positive for dangerous bacteria.】

【Chloe: There’s no immediate access to emergency medical care at Pine Hollow. I strongly recommend canceling this food package and buying the food elsewhere.】

After I sent the messages, the chat went completely silent for three full minutes.

No one said a word.

Then Mia finally responded.

【Mia: Chloe, what is this supposed to mean?】

【Mia: Just because no one picked your overpriced plan, you went online, doctored a bunch of screenshots, and posted them to smear me? How could you do something this vicious?】

I frowned.

【Chloe: These are public court records with case numbers. Anyone can look them up.】

【Mia: Who has time to look up a bunch of stuff that might not even be real? My relative’s plant has always followed the law. Those lawsuits were filed by competitors trying to ruin the business! Besides, my family eats this food all the time, and nothing has ever happened to us!】

She was twisting everything around instead of addressing the evidence.

Her supporters immediately jumped in.

【Emma: Chloe, enough already. Mia was trying to save everyone money, and you’re going out of your way to scare people.】

【Noah: Exactly. E. coli? Come on. You think cheap fast-food meat never has anything wrong with it? We’ll cook everything over the fire. The heat will kill the bacteria. What could possibly happen?】

【Liam: Rich girls are always so dramatic. If you think our food is so disgusting, then don’t eat it.】

I stared at their messages and felt a wave of sadness.

【Oliver: All right, everyone, calm down. Chloe, I know you mean well, but the club has already voted. Mia says the food is safe. We’re a team. Let’s not start fighting over something this small.】