Chapter 6 · I Called 911 After Seeing a Video

When we got to the family house, Grandpa was already waiting in the study.

He was seventy-three this year. His hair was gray, but he still looked sharp. He wore a gray buttoned shirt and sat in a carved wooden armchair, with a photocopy of a contract spread out on the table in front of him.

When Olivia followed me into the study, Grandpa lifted his eyes and looked at her once.

One glance from him, and Olivia instinctively shrank back behind me.

"Grandpa."

"Sit."

I sat on the side sofa while Olivia stood frozen by the door.

Grandpa ignored her, picked up the photocopy, and started reading.

"Three years ago, the company lost a set of blank contracts, numbers 0147 through 0150. Four in total. We reported it to the police at the time, but never found out who took them."

He set the photocopy down and looked at Olivia.

"The number on your contract is 0148."

Olivia wrung her hands.

"Your father, Richard Sterling, worked at my company for eight years. He left at the end of last year. Before that, he was in sales and handled contract filing."

Grandpa's voice was quiet, but every word carried weight.

"He took that blank contract, didn't he?"

Olivia bit her lip and said nothing, but her eyes were red again.

"Don't cry. Crying won't do you any good here." Grandpa took a sip of tea. "Call your father over."

"My dad, he..."

"If he doesn't come, I'll take this contract straight to the financial crimes unit. Misusing a company seal to forge a property contract, involving 9 million dollars. Why don't you look up how many years that gets him?"

Olivia's face went completely pale. Trembling, she took out her phone and made the call.

The second the call connected, tears started falling.

"Dad, come quick... that old man knows everything. He's going to call the police..."

After she hung up, the study fell so silent that I could hear the wall clock ticking.

Grandpa said nothing and just drank his tea slowly.

While waiting, I scrolled through my phone and saw Olivia's account had updated again.

She posted a new status, just four words, "I'm so scared," with a selfie of herself looking teary-eyed.

Within a minute, hundreds of comments flooded in.

Olivia, what happened? Did that broke girl come after you again?

"Call the cops! Don't be scared! We've got your back!"

"Oh my god, I feel so bad for you. That woman is insane."

I couldn't help laughing.

Grandpa glanced at me, and I handed him my phone.

He put on his reading glasses, carefully read the post and the comments, then gave the phone back to me.

"How do you want to handle this?"

"Let's see what the father and daughter have to say first."

Twenty minutes later, Richard arrived.

He reeked of alcohol when he came in, his face flushed. Clearly he'd been drinking before getting called over.

The first thing he did when he saw me was smile.

"Oh, Emmy's here too."

He said it like we'd just run into each other in the office break room.

Grandpa slapped the contract copy down in front of him.

"Explain."

Richard looked down at it. The smile on his face stiffened for a split second, but he recovered fast.

"Mr. Sterling, I have no idea what's going on with this contract. Maybe Livvy was being foolish and took it herself-"

"Richard Sterling." Grandpa cut him off. "You know damn well why you left the company at the end of last year."

Richard's face changed.

"About that batch of building materials, I let it slide because you'd worked for the company for eight years. Did you really think I had no idea how much you were taking in kickbacks?"

Grandpa stood up and walked to the window with his hands behind his back.

"Two hundred forty-five thousand dollars. I kept every record."

Richard swallowed hard, suddenly looking far more sober.

"After you quit, I had someone check the contract archives again and found four blank contracts missing. Back then, I thought they'd been misplaced. I didn't expect you to use them to help your daughter fake ownership papers."

"Mr. Sterling, I-"

"Forging a property contract, illegally occupying someone else's property, plus embezzlement during your time at the company. Richard Sterling, how many years do you think all that adds up to?"

Richard's legs gave out, and he dropped onto the sofa.

Chapter 6

When we got to the family house, Grandpa was already waiting in the study.

When Olivia followed me into the study, Grandpa lifted his eyes and looked at her once.

One glance from him, and Olivia instinctively shrank back behind me.

"Grandpa."

"Sit."

I sat on the side sofa while Olivia stood frozen by the door.

Grandpa ignored her, picked up the photocopy, and started reading.

"Three years ago, the company lost a set of blank contracts, numbers 0147 through 0150. Four in total. We reported it to the police at the time, but never found out who took them."

He set the photocopy down and looked at Olivia.

"The number on your contract is 0148."

Olivia wrung her hands.

"Your father, Richard Sterling, worked at my company for eight years. He left at the end of last year. Before that, he was in sales and handled contract filing."

Grandpa's voice was quiet, but every word carried weight.

"He took that blank contract, didn't he?"

Olivia bit her lip and said nothing, but her eyes were red again.

"Don't cry. Crying won't do you any good here." Grandpa took a sip of tea. "Call your father over."

"My dad, he..."

Olivia's face went completely pale. Trembling, she took out her phone and made the call.

The second the call connected, tears started falling.

"Dad, come quick... that old man knows everything. He's going to call the police..."

After she hung up, the study fell so silent that I could hear the wall clock ticking.

Grandpa said nothing and just drank his tea slowly.

While waiting, I scrolled through my phone and saw Olivia's account had updated again.

She posted a new status, just four words, "I'm so scared," with a selfie of herself looking teary-eyed.

Within a minute, hundreds of comments flooded in.

Olivia, what happened? Did that broke girl come after you again?

"Call the cops! Don't be scared! We've got your back!"

"Oh my god, I feel so bad for you. That woman is insane."

I couldn't help laughing.

Grandpa glanced at me, and I handed him my phone.

He put on his reading glasses, carefully read the post and the comments, then gave the phone back to me.

"How do you want to handle this?"

"Let's see what the father and daughter have to say first."

Twenty minutes later, Richard arrived.

He reeked of alcohol when he came in, his face flushed. Clearly he'd been drinking before getting called over.

The first thing he did when he saw me was smile.

"Oh, Emmy's here too."

He said it like we'd just run into each other in the office break room.

Grandpa slapped the contract copy down in front of him.

"Explain."

Richard looked down at it. The smile on his face stiffened for a split second, but he recovered fast.

"Mr. Sterling, I have no idea what's going on with this contract. Maybe Livvy was being foolish and took it herself-"

"Richard Sterling." Grandpa cut him off. "You know damn well why you left the company at the end of last year."

Richard's face changed.

"About that batch of building materials, I let it slide because you'd worked for the company for eight years. Did you really think I had no idea how much you were taking in kickbacks?"

Grandpa stood up and walked to the window with his hands behind his back.

"Two hundred forty-five thousand dollars. I kept every record."

Richard swallowed hard, suddenly looking far more sober.

"Mr. Sterling, I-"

"Forging a property contract, illegally occupying someone else's property, plus embezzlement during your time at the company. Richard Sterling, how many years do you think all that adds up to?"

Richard's legs gave out, and he dropped onto the sofa.