Chapter 1

The color drained from my uncle, Steve Cutterson's face. He lunged at me and snatched my phone from me, exclaiming, "Stop spouting nonsense! You forged that screenshot!"

I dodged out of the way and aimed a kick at Uncle Steve's knee, forcing him to fall to his knees in front of Dominic Langdon with a loud thud.

Dominic toyed with the bloody knife. "800 dollars?" he asked in an icy voice.

Uncle Steve trembled violently. He pointed an accusing finger at me and shouted, "Don't fall for this bastard's lies, Mr. Langdon! I gave him 80,000 dollars in cash! He's the one who embezzled the money! He then forged an 800-dollar transaction record to bamboozle you!"

I scoffed. "You claim to have given me the money in cash, but do you have proof that you withdrew 80,000 dollars from the bank, Uncle Steve?"

Uncle Steve gritted his teeth and hissed, "I took the cash from my own home. It's from my own personal stash of money that I've been saving up for the past six months."

Dominic glanced at his subordinate who was standing behind him, a bald man named Kevin Mills.

Kevin stepped forward and snatched my phone from me. He briefly scrolled through it before handing it to Dominic, saying, "The transaction record is real, Mr. Langdon. It was processed this morning at 8:00 am."

Dominic slapped Uncle Steve hard across his face.

Blood stained the corner of his lips while a tooth flew out from the impact.

"How dare you embezzle my money, Steve Cutterson?"

Fear gripped Uncle Steve's heart, and he immediately began to grovel at Dominic's feet for mercy.

"I'm being framed, Mr. Langdon! That brat is a computer whiz. He must have hired someone to hack into my account to forge the transaction record! Not only did he embezzle the money that you planned to use to purchase premium seafood, but he's also trying to pin the blame on me!"

I stared into Uncle Steve's eyes and said, "You truly are a stubborn man, Uncle Steve. I was at your station when you transferred the money to me this morning. The surveillance camera recorded everything that you said while we were there."

Uncle Steve's body stiffened. His complexion turned deathly pale, and he couldn't stammer out a single word.

Just then, a fat woman burst through the crowd and slapped me across my face.

It was my aunt, Valerie Dane.

Aunt Valerie pointed an accusing finger at me and screamed, "You ungrateful bastard! How dare you embezzle Mr. Langdon's money when we decided to give you a job out of the kindness of our hearts?

"I know that your mother had a heart attack and is teetering between life and death in the hospital. You decided to risk your own life and throw my family under the bus just so you can claim the 80,000 dollars for yourself to pay her medical bills!"

Uncle Steve's eyes lit up upon hearing Aunt Valerie's words. He hastily pointed an accusing finger at me and roared, "She's right! Did you hear what she said, Mr. Langdon? This brat lost his mind because he's desperate for money!

"Not only did he steal your money, but he also hired someone to create fake surveillance footage to drag me down!

"Jordan! Jordan, come quick!"

My cousin, Jordan Cutterson, squeezed through the crowd while brandishing a metal bat. "What's up, Dad?" he asked.

Uncle Steve pointed at me and spat, "That bastard embezzled Mr. Langdon's money that he was supposed to use to purchase premium seafood. Now, he's trying to pin the blame on me. I want you to beat him to a pulp!"

Jordan didn't say another word as he lifted the bat and attempted to smash it against my head.

I quickly dodged out of the way.

The bat smashed against the plates on the table instead with a deafening bang, sending the sardines and crayfish rocketing in all directions.

"Stop!" Dominic roared, kicking the table over.

Jordan immediately froze in place out of fear.

Dominic stalked toward me and pressed the tip of the knife against my chest. "You mentioned that there's a surveillance camera installed near his station, brat?"

I nodded. "Yes. The camera's connected to his phone, so you can check the footage directly from his phone."

Uncle Steve started panicking and hastily covered his pocket.