“Okay.” Charlie felt relieved as well.Two minutes after he ended the call, he received another text message that said, “Dear Mr. Charlie Wade, a total of $21,900,000,000.00 has been credited to your black card account at 15:06 today.”Charlie finally calmed down with the money back in his hands.Then, another serious question arose in his mind.Elaine had stolen his card, tried out his password, and saw the shocking balance in his card.What if Claire found out about it? How would he explain it to her?!Charlie’s expression became more and more eerie.‘Elaine, I’ve endured your nasty attitude towards me for so long because you were Claire’s mother, but you were playing with fire today.’‘I wouldn’t let you go easily today!’Determined, he made another call to Isaac.As soon as the call was answered, Isaac’s respectful voice resonated. “Mr. Wade, how may I help you?”Charlie uttered angrily, “My nasty mother-in-law has stolen my card and ransacked my money, 21.9 billion in t
Dorian was frightened by Elaine’s threat and said helplessly, “I can help you check on the progress, but if the transaction has been reported to the headquarters, there is nothing more I can do.”Elaine gritted her teeth in frustration. She splashed the coffee on his face and shouted, “Hurry then! What are you still doing here? I’m in a hurry!”Dorian screamed in pain. Fortunately, the coffee was not very hot, or he would have been scalded badly otherwise.He was so furious and agitated by now, but he didn’t dare to provoke the so-called VIP, so he said humbly, “Please wait a moment, I’ll check the transaction’s progress now.”Then, he logged into the system and uttered in surprise, “Oh? This is so strange. The system indicated that the transaction has been canceled and the money has been refunded.”“What the hell? Where has the money been refunded?”“To you black card, it’s in your account now.”“What?!” Elaine swung her hand wildly and slapped Dorian across the face. “What the
Elaine shrieked frantically, “No, the card isn’t mine, it belongs to my son-in-law and his name is Charlie Wade! There must be some misunderstanding!”The officer said coldly, “This card was forged by an overseas criminal group with a very high-tech team! They’ve used it to defraud banks of huge amounts of money! We’ve been investigating and tracking this major transnational case in conjunction with the International Criminal Police Organization in twenty-three countries for two years, and now we have finally caught up with you! The evidence is here, what else do you want to say?!”Elaine gaped in utter shock, devastated!Was the card forged?!No wonder!It was absolutely impossible a loser like Charlie would have so much money in his account!It was all a scam! A fraud!More importantly, it seemed that the card was involved in some sort of a major transnational case?!A joint investigation with Interpol in twenty-three countries? It sounded like quite a huge team, didn’t it? I
As soon as they arrived at the Aurous Police Station, Elaine was taken directly to the interrogation room at the Regional Crime Unit.She trembled in shock when she saw the words ‘Regional Crime Unit’ print on the door.Elaine was on the verge of collapse as she was dragged to the interrogation room like a defeated hen in a cockfight.The officers pushed her down on the chair in the interrogation room and shone the incandescent light on her face.In front of her were several officers from the crime unit.One of them started in a cold voice, “Elaine Wilson, you are now the first and only suspect in an overseas high-tech criminal gang. I advise you to be truthful and tell us everything about your criminal process. Otherwise, what awaits are the fair trial and justice.”Elaine started wailing again. “Officers, I swear, you get the wrong person! Charlie Wade is the suspect… no, he is a criminal, I am a law-abiding citizen. I stole the card from his jacket, it wasn’t me!”“Do you thi
The three detention centers in Aurous Police Station served their respective purpose. One was for detaining male suspects and one was for female suspects, while the other was for juvenile suspects.After the four members of the Wilson were arrested, they were sent to two detention centers, with Lady Wilson and Wendy sent to the women’s detention center while Christopher and Harold were sent to the men’s detention center.Lady Wilson felt itchy and tingling when she first entered the cell. She sat on the thin bed, recalling her recent tragic happenings.This period of time was the greatest and most devastating catastrophe for Lady Wilson and the Wilson family. All her hard work and assets had been confiscated by the court, her own son refused to let her live in the Thompson First villa, and he had even called the police to arrest her! She was getting more and more irritated as she thought about it.Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she slapped the bed in despair and wailed loudly, “A
Jennifer’s remark immediately aroused the anger of the people around her! They started to cheer with righteous indignation!Although everyone was a prisoner, the people here generally had not committed serious crimes nor were they wicked people. They had an instinctive sympathy towards the old and weak.When they looked at Lady Wilson with her grayish hair and wrinkled face talking about her pathetic life in the sobbing tone, they couldn’t help but believe her words.Hence, everyone started condemning the ‘perpetrators’ in unison.“How dare they abandon such an old mother? They are nothing but a bunch of scumbags!”“You’re right! They get to live in a million-dollar villa but they can’t even spare an empty room for the old lady. They are so disgusting!”“Ma’am, don’t worry, karma’s a b*tch and it will haunt your d*mned daughter-in-law soon!”Tears drenched Lady Wilson’s face. “Thank you for your concern and support, thank you so much! I didn’t expect to meet so many good people
However, the officer told her that since she was the prime suspect of a major transnational case, she was not allowed to meet or contact her family, or even hire a lawyer for the time being before the case was tried.The wrath of fury was burning violently inside Elaine, but she couldn’t vent it out.After entering the high wall of the detention center, the officer immediately took Elaine to go through detention formalities.It was quite a complicated and complex procedure. Her pictures had to be taken and her identity verified. Next, she had to take off all her clothes and belongings and hand them to the staff, then put on the prisoner uniform and take the daily necessities provided.After Elaine changed into the prisoner uniform, the officers who brought her here had already left. From then on, everything about her was to be managed by the detention center.A female prison guard brought her into the prison area, and as protocol, she explained while walking, “This is a twenty-per
Elaine was shocked when she heard the voice.She turned around and she saw Lady Wilson sitting cross-legged on the bed as she pointed her finger and cursed at her.Lady Wilson really did not expect to see Elaine at the detention center.Furthermore, Elaine was wearing the same prison uniform as herself in the detention center. It seemed as though she had just been arrested for committing a crime!Elaine was also very flustered after seeing Lady Wilson and Wendy.She really did not expect to be placed into the same cell as the both of them.She had just been wishing that she would not end up in the same cell as the both of them but she never expected herself to be so unfortunate.Therefore, she hurriedly yelled out of the small window on the iron gate while the prison guard was still nearby. “Comrade! Officer! Can you please switch me to another cell instead? I do not want to be in the same cell as these people!”The prison guard simply replied, “Do you really think that this de
Raymond chuckled at the title, humble as ever, "The Duke of Wastage? Now, that's quite the royal title, and I don't think I deserve such an honor…"Trailing off, he then made an especially curious look, "By the way, how'd you know they were calling me that?"Seeing that he was still so ignorant, Jacob scoffed. "You bought a Renaissance-era bronze sculpture earlier, didn't you?"Raymond nodded. "I did. But technically, it's medieval and not Renaissance, along with a Renaissance-era base."Jacob clutched his stomach as he laughed, "Oh, please! Medieval? Hahaha… You're killing me, Mr. Cole!"Raymond kept a serious look on his face. "It's really medieval. Why don't you take a look?""No way," Jacob snorted, pursing his lips. "Anyway, word has already spread that someone was selling a counterfeit bronze sculpture to defraud Antique Street for some serious dough. He went first to Vintage Deluxe, but their manager, Mr. Crane, saw through it and didn't buy it… and then he came to you, an
That was why most of the collectors only knew that such an item existed but they did not know in whose possession it was.After registering a new account and paying the ten thousand registration fee, Raymond got in.It was very safe as it was anonymous, and he posted a photo of the bronze sculpture and an announcement with an asking price of twenty million.In his opinion, it wasn't that expensive—if it was still gilded, it would be worth around a hundred million. Without it, it was plenty reasonable to cut the price down to just thirty million.And Raymond was cutting another ten million off that, so twenty million was plenty reasonable.Moreover, medieval bronze sculptures were exceedingly rare, and less than one specimen showed up annually at times. Collectors who desired it would therefore be willing to break the bank for it, and that was why Raymond was sure that someone would put in an order once he posted it.As he wrote the summary of the item, someone knocked on his door
Jacob frowned in disdain. "Why would I be worried? He's no longer the manager of Vintage Deluxe, and he just lost a shit ton of money for messing up his appraisal. I am also the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Association, so why would I be worried about some loser who will soon be kicked out of Antique Street?"Straightening his collar, he snorted coldly, "I am now going to see Raymond Cole and humiliate him face-to-face! He thinks he's impressive, doesn't he? Let's see how he will keep up that facade!"Zachary chuckled, "Yes, exactly! People like him need to be given a slap in the face! As hard as you can! Don't worry—I'll be right behind you. If he gets physical, I'll rush in to help. If he doesn't dare to start a fight, you just insult him as much as possible!""Good plan!" Jacob nodded since he was concerned that Raymond might get physical when pushed too far.And with his body, there was no way he could beat anyone…Spreading his arms, he exclaimed, "Come! I'l
Mick inspected every video to see who was getting the most views, and he then paid out of his own pocket to use paid advertising to get the video viral.It cost five thousand and it hurt, but reaching the trending page was definitely worth it.Mick was quite shrewd too, making sure that the paid advertising was focused locally. After all, he knew all too well that five thousand didn't buy many clicks, and clicks from elsewhere might be too sporadic to gain any worthwhile attention.As he worked in Antique Street, he naturally had to come up with a plan to promote himself in this place, ideally presenting himself as a master appraiser.That way, his fame would slowly extend throughout the province and perhaps Eastern Oskia, and eventually the country.As such, focusing on Aurous Hill was the best idea.Moreover, he also had another idea—if Jasmine Moore happened to see this video, she would see him in a new light.When that happened, he could look forward to getting really rich!
Soon, the video of Mick's staged act was uploaded to the online group, and everyone eagerly watched it as soon as it was done uploading.Mick certainly set a new bar with his acting as none of them could see that it was an act.Moreover, everyone could see that the bronze sculpture looked like the real deal, and they might have been swindled if it were them.As such, they couldn't help being impressed as Mick had easily seen through Billy's con, and he was the definition of a pro in that video.No matter how Billy had packaged it, there was no tricking real experts like Mick Crane. Just a quick glance and he had seen through that it was a postmodern replica, matched with a base from the Renaissance era to misdirect and beguile.With that, many fellow antique dealers changed their opinion of Mick.After all, Vintage Deluxe's business had been declining after Mick took over as manager, and people were presuming that his skills were lacking.But now, they were all shown that he had
"Amazing, Mr. Crane!""It's Mr. Crane who shines through, in the end! His eyes see through everything!""I guess Miss Moore made the right choice firing Raymond and appointing Mr. Crane! Mr. Crane is infinitely better!"Mick was immediately thrilled to see them fawning over him, and he laughed, "You flatter me—I'm merely sharing my personal perspective on this. In this trade, anyone who knows would understand how hard it is to get the good stuff in this age of technology.""There are plenty of people who hold ulterior motives and change their tactics knowing that there are always those scheming to get their hands on vintage treasures, so they just have to make it. That is how they started making counterfeits of everything, from scrolls to sculptures to statues, each of them so real just to trick those fools who think they could get rich overnight!""Exactly!" Someone promptly agreed. "There's never a lack of any such fools, and I just happened to meet one. I had this piece of jade
In groups like these, any gossip would immediately spread like wildfire as people share everything here with their other circles.Within minutes of these people's good work, Antique Street was abuzz even as the skies darkened: one of the antique traders had been swindled for 300 thousand, and it was Raymond Cole—the former manager of the Vintage Deluxe at that!Some of them wondered when Raymond had actually returned while others were laughing.He was supposed to be the former manager of the Vintage Deluxe, but he had messed up as well? You had to be kidding!Many were dumbstruck too—how would Raymond survive in Antique Street after losing so much money? It had been so long since such a major scam had been pulled!As such, all the antique dealers were asking one question: how did Raymond Cole get fooled?Meanwhile, Mick didn't leak the security footage right away, instead sending his people out to spread the news in other channels, claiming that Raymond thought he had won big by
Mick had already clipped the security footage and was waiting for Zachary's word.He had checked the footage repeatedly as well and was only getting more impressed with his masterful acting by the second. He looked just like a maestro, and every detail he mentioned was flawless and showed experience.Zacahry even said that Raymond had truly slipped up with that bronze sculpture, leaving him endlessly thrilled.The proverbial missing piece of the puzzle was here!Hence, calling all the staff he trusted, he told them excitedly, "Spread the word right away—Raymond Cole slipped up, spending 300 thousand on a fake Renaissance-era bronze sculpture!"His staff had no idea of the conspiracy involved, only that Mick had said that someone had tried to sell a counterfeit bronze sculpture but he had seen through it right away and chased him away, only for Raymond to end up buying the fake bronze sculpture soon after.Someone asked, "Mr. Crane, don't you think Raymond Cole bought from the man
Raymond had said everything he should and shouldn't and with complete sincerity exactly because Billy would never believe it.As Billy just wanted to swindle him, it didn't matter how sincere Raymond was—he wanted the 300 thousand whatever it took. The key here was that Billy had refused a better prospect when told it was possible, and there was evidence that would support Raymond if either he or Zachary realized the truth and came to start trouble.That meant Raymond had nothing to worry about—they could take this to the United Nations but he'd still win this case.Having been in the antique trade for so long, he had seen every form of oddity and was always cautious with people, considering every aspect of any issue.Hence, once he downloaded the security footage to his phone, Raymond decided that he needed to sell the bronze sculpture—not because he was in urgent need of money, but because he realized that there were those who wanted him out of Aurous Hill's Antique Street.Afte