Mark: Call her! Mom, call Evelyn on your phone right now!
Beatrice: I am calling her! It's ringing... wait, it went straight to voicemail!
Mark: Give me that!
Mark snatched the phone from his mother's hands, typing out a furious text message with shaking thumbs.
Mark: Evelyn, unlock my cards right now! You are humiliating me in front of my mother and the entire restaurant!
A second later, a small text message bubble popped up on the screen.
Text Message (Evelyn): You wanted to act like a big man in front of your mother. Pay for your own meal like one.
Mark: She's insane! She's completely lost her mind!
Manager: Is there a problem here, folks?
A tall man in a dark grey suit walked up to the table, his arms crossed over his chest with an authoritative glare.
Server: Mr. Vance, Mr. Davis's cards have both been declined, and he says he has no other form of payment.
Manager: Mr. Davis, this is an upscale establishment. We do not tolerate unpaid bills.
Mark: Listen to me, Vance! My wife just left with her card! She's the one who usually handles the family finances!
Manager: That is a personal matter, sir. The bill must be paid before you leave this table.
Beatrice: I have cash in my purse! Mark, how much cash do we need?
Beatrice frantically unzipped her designer handbag, dumping the contents out onto the white tablecloth.
Beatrice: I have... twenty, forty, fifty... sixty-five dollars.
Manager: Sixty-five dollars will not cover a four-hundred-and-eighty-dollar tab, ma'am.
Mark: Look, I can leave my watch! This is a real Rolex!
Manager: We are a restaurant, Mr. Davis, not a pawn shop. If you cannot pay, I will be forced to call the local authorities for theft of services.
Beatrice: The police?! Mark, do something!
Mark: Okay! Okay! Let me call my brother! Just give me five minutes!
Mark stood up, his hands trembling as he dialed his younger brother's number while walking toward the hallway.
Greg: Hey, Mark. What's up?
Mark: Greg! I need you to wire me five hundred dollars right now!
Greg: Five hundred dollars? For what? You're a wealthy executive, remember?
Mark: Don't start with me, Greg! Evelyn just locked all my cards! I'm stuck at the steakhouse with Mom and the manager is about to call the cops!
Greg: Wait... she finally did it?
Mark: What do you mean 'finally did it'?!
Greg: Mark, everyone in the family knew she was funding your entire life. You've been acting like a big shot on her inheritance for five years.
Mark: Shut up and send the money, Greg!
Greg: I don't have five hundred dollars to lend you, Mark. And even if I did, I wouldn't. You treat her like garbage. It's time you learned a lesson.
The call went dead as Greg hung up the phone.
Mark stared at the screen, a cold sweat breaking out across his forehead as he realized he was completely trapped.