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All Chapters of Branded a Thief for Taking My Own Goods: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

The young cashier behind the counter paused, but the professional smile remained plastered on her face. "Sir, may I ask if you're a member of Harvest Grain & Oil? If you're a premium member, we can offer you a points redemption service."She was considerate and professional, but unfortunately, she was new and unfamiliar to me. I usually handled things behind the scenes and reviewed reports, so I rarely visited this branch.It was perfectly understandable that she didn't recognize me.To Ryan Cooper, however, her words were a slap in my face. As if he had finally found something to use against me, he burst into exaggerated laughter."Did you hear that, Will? She's asking if you're a member! And you have the nerve to say you're taking something from your own store. Look at yourself!"Been playing the big shot for too long, huh? How does it feel to get humiliated in front of everyone?"The store was spacious and nearly empty, so his shrill voice echoed into every corner. The volunte

Chapter 2

I met Lynette's gaze without backing down. Then, I turned to the flustered cashier behind the counter. "Could you please get me the manager?"The cashier looked troubled. "I'm sorry, sir, but our store manager is at a meeting at headquarters today.""Then, get the manager on duty. I—"Before I could finish, Lynette slammed her hand against the counter, having finally lost her patience. "Enough! How much further are you going to push this? Must you make a scene and turn the neighborhood office into a laughingstock?"My heart sank. Burning with anger, I clenched my fists.She knew perfectly well how much I had sacrificed for this volunteer team. Yet now, just to save her own precious reputation, she was willing to throw me under the bus without even bothering to find out the truth.I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. "I'm not making a scene, Ms. Watson."I picked up the jug of peanut oil from the counter and held it out to her. "I only picked this up on my way out

Chapter 3

Lynette and Ryan both froze, their expressions stiffening as they struggled to process Margaret's intervention.Ryan was the first to recover. He quickly turned his accusations back on me. "You troublemaker! Look at the mess you've caused! You must've offended Margaret with your sneaky, underhanded behavior just now! What are you standing there for? Hurry up and apologize to her!"As he spoke, he grabbed a tin of premium caviar from a nearby shelf and shoved it into Margaret's hands. "As compensation, please accept this gift from us. My subordinate doesn't know better. I'll make sure to teach him a proper lesson!"Then, completely ignoring Margaret's protests, he turned to me and ordered, "You're paying for the caviar, too!"And I'm going to take another 20 tins as spares in case any other senior residents come here looking for trouble. You can pay for those as well."At that, Margaret grew flustered. "Hey, hey! When did I say I wanted this caviar? And why should Will have to pay

Chapter 4

After staring blankly for several seconds, Lynette let out a mocking laugh."Margaret, you have such a sense of humor. Sure, you used to be the state department director, but you've been retired for five years. Do you still think you can order people around?"Besides, who exactly is Will to you? Why are you so determined to protect him?"At that, Ryan seized the opportunity to stir up trouble among the others."I get it now! It all makes sense! Think about it, everyone. If he really had money and connections, why would he be busting his ass doing charity work in some courtyard alley like this?"I bet the reason he won over so many lonely elderly people so quickly is that he's got ulterior motives. He's after their properties and retirement savings!"He cast meaningful glances back and forth between Margaret and me, then made an especially vile insinuation."You've been defending him quite fiercely, Margaret. Don't tell me he's sweet-talked you into handing over your entire life

Chapter 5

No one dared make a sound.Before I could say a word, Ryan sidled up to Josie with an ingratiating smile, though one of the bodyguards firmly kept him at a distance.Ryan didn't seem offended. Instead, he eagerly pointed at me, as if he were about to take credit for some great achievement."Perfect timing, Ms. Jones! It's this man!" he said excitedly. "Will Irving impersonated your CEO, tried to steal the donation supplies, and even smashed that incredibly pricey crystal sculpture. He's utterly shameless and deceitful!"Lynette chimed in, "That's right. He's a volunteer on our team with terrible morals and an enormous ego. He's caused you and your company a great deal of trouble."But don't worry. I've already kicked him off the team. I'll make sure he's dealt with properly so he won't tarnish your reputation!"Apparently, these two idiots hadn't even heard what Josie had said to me earlier. They continued playing off each other, yet Josie showed none of the anger they expected.

Chapter 6

The punishment wasn't over yet.Margaret stepped forward and looked down at the two of them, now miserable. "Hey, Watson. Weren't you just mocking me for being retired and having no one to take my orders?"Lynette glanced at her and muttered through gritted teeth, "Well, it's true. You've been out of the game for five years. Who do you think you can scare with all that old authority of yours?"Margaret said nothing. She simply pulled out her phone, dialed a number, and switched on the speaker. The call connected almost immediately. A respectful voice came from the other end, "Ms. Lowe, what a rare surprise! Is there something you need me to take care of?""Listen up, Carl. I'm at a Harvest Grain & Oil branch in your district right now," Margaret said commandingly."That head of the neighborhood office, Lynette Watson, has not only turned a blind eye while her subordinates harass an innocent man and destroy a costly business property, but she's also abused her power to suppress t

Chapter 7

My words doused Ryan and Lynette like a bucket of ice-cold water, chilling them to the bone. All her accusations were nothing more than desperate attempts to lash out.In the face of the law, they wouldn't hold up for a second.Lynette stood stiffly, her mouth hanging open, unable to rebut.Just then, urgent sirens sounded outside the store. Several uniformed police officers walked through the entrance. Josie immediately stepped forward to explain the situation."Officers, these two are the ones who caused a disturbance here," she said, pointing at Lynette and Ryan. "They even assaulted someone and smashed an extremely valuable crystal sculpture."Lynette tried one last time to wriggle out of trouble, desperately attempting to pin the blame on me. "Officers, they're lying! They're all in this together! They set us up!"Ryan chimed in, protesting his innocence, "Exactly! We're just working-class citizens! We'd never break the law! And look! See this injury at the corner of my mout

Chapter 8

I nodded to Josie. "Hand the surveillance footage over to the officers."Before long, a complete recording with crystal-clear audio was delivered to the police. The footage left no room for argument.It not only captured the entire sequence of events, from Ryan verbally abusing me and attacking me to the moment he grabbed a vinegar bottle and used it to injure me.It also exposed Lynette's disgraceful behavior from beginning to end. She had encouraged the conflict from the start, then slapped the jug of peanut oil out of my hand, causing it to smash the crystal sculpture.In the end, she resorted to wild accusations and false allegations in a desperate attempt to frame me. The evidence was undeniable.Faced with such irrefutable proof, the last shred of hope that Lynette and Ryan might somehow escape the consequences vanished."Take them!" the officer commanded.Cold steel handcuffs snapped around their wrists. Ryan was arrested on suspicion of battery, while Lynette was detaine

Chapter 9

In early fall a year later, I returned to the courtyard alley where I had once volunteered.The shabby community activity room at the entrance had been transformed into a bright, spacious day care center for seniors.Margaret was wearing her reading glasses and playing chess with a few old friends in the warm fall sunshine. When she saw me, she beamed and hurried over, proudly raising her wrist to show me her new gadget."You're here, Will. Look, they just got me this smart band yesterday. It can even measure my heart rate and blood pressure. There's an emergency call button, too. It's been a huge help to all of us!"I smiled and walked over.Out of habit, I tightened her slightly loose band and asked gently, "As long as it works well. It's not too complicated to use, is it? And how's your leg been? Does it still hurt when it gets humid?""Not anymore! There's a physical therapist who gives us massages every day. They even gave us knee supports for free. I feel so much better now

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