One Man Band System

A few moments later, inside a police station interrogation room equipped with five chairs, a single table, and plenty of security cameras, Eric sat right next to Chloe. Across from them sat Bryan next to Katie, while Norman sat in the center, flanked by a private investigator and a female forensic accountant.

The private investigator, a man named Kyle, handed out copies of a contract and turned his laptop around. He displayed a legal agreement and payment receipts showing a $500,000.00 transfer from Paul’s account to a woman named Marjorie about 12 years ago. The stated purpose of the transaction was hush money for Marjorie’s husband, a truck driver, to take the fall and serve a 5-year prison sentence.

"Marjorie is willing to testify because her husband died in a prison fight while serving that time, and Paul refused to take any responsibility since he had already paid for the service," Kyle explained.

"So... my parents’ accident... wasn’t an accident?" Chloe asked, reading through the file.

"No... it was premeditated murder staged as an accident because it was raining heavily that night. Please look at the second page," Kyle replied.

The second page contained a witness statement from a mechanic who saw a man sabotaging the car Charles and his wife were driving. He had reported it to the police back then, but Paul later approached him to keep quiet, offering him $120,000.00 from his personal account. The mechanic refused the money and vanished, changing his name and hiding out on the edge of town where he opened a small repair shop.

"This mechanic was actually the one the victims called to fix their car the day before. After he finished up and stepped out of the garage, he saw two guys walk inside. When he peeked in, he spotted a man tampering with the car he had just serviced. He reported it to the police station, but Paul cornered him right there. When I tracked him down, he was ready to testify and willing to sign a statement. He told me he’s tired of living in fear," Kyle said.

"So the timeline goes something like this: it was pouring rain that day, the victims’ car hydroplaned, veered into the next lane, and got slammed head-on by a truck at high speed," Norman noted, reading over the files.

"Exactly. The murder was carried out using the truck. That’s why the driver, who agreed to do it because he was getting paid, claimed it was just an accident caused by the heavy rain and him getting drowsy. That’s the reason his family was paid a fortune," Kyle replied.

"But why would he agree to that? Didn’t he have to take the fall for everything?" Bryan asked, completely puzzled.

"According to his wife, Marjorie, they were desperate at the time. Their 12-year-old child had leukemia and they needed an enormous amount of money for treatments," Kyle answered.

"Ah... that makes sense. So Paul took advantage of the guy’s situation, offering him a lifeline just to get him to do his dirty work," Bryan muttered, deep in thought.

"Right. And in the end, the truck driver was silenced anyway. I’m still looking into that angle to uncover the proof. The good news is that Marjorie’s child has fully recovered and is living a normal life now. Marjorie is ready to testify and sign a statement because she’s convinced her husband was silenced in prison," Kyle replied.

"So that’s how it went," Eric muttered.

Eric turned to look at Chloe. He was certain she would be highly emotional after hearing that the accident which claimed her parents’ lives was actually a premeditated murder.

Instead, Eric was shocked to see absolutely no reaction on Chloe’s face. She remained completely cold and expressionless. It was a sharp contrast to Bryan, whose face had gone dark and visibly filled with emotion.

"So thanks to that recording, we now know that what happened twelve years ago wasn’t an accident. This is enough to put one of them behind bars for eternity, especially with these pieces of evidence combined with the testimonies from the truck driver’s wife and the mechanic," Katie murmured.

"Exactly. These receipts and contracts can serve as a foundation. Even though he drew them up privately without any legal counsel, we can reopen the case based on this evidence and yesterday’s recording," Norman said.

"What else do you have?" Bryan asked, having calmed down a bit.

"Please open the third file," Kyle replied.

The third page turned out to display a list of everything Paul and Mason had been doing within the company over the past three years. It ranged from transferring massive sums of money as "consulting fees" to an offshore company that actually belonged to Mason’s brother-in-law, bypassing project protocols, and approving the use of cheap materials so they could pocket the difference, to bribing the city council to build in restricted zones, and much more.

"Whoa... embezzlement, signature forgery, and bribery. Looks like they’ve been working overtime these past three years," Eric muttered.

"Every piece of evidence and receipt is right here," stated Briana, the forensic accountant. She looked like someone who hadn’t slept in days, sporting dark circles under her eyes and a messy bun, as she turned her laptop around and pointed to the USB drive plugged into the side.

"Hmm... this doesn’t just open the door to criminal charges against Paul, but civil lawsuits for both of them as well," Bryan muttered, deep in thought.

"Yeah... and they’re going to spend a very long time behind bars. Between the criminal and civil cases heading his way, it looks like Paul is never getting out to breathe fresh air again," Katie said, looking like a shark that had just caught the scent of fresh blood, her stance growing aggressive.

"Alright, I’ll compile and submit this criminal evidence to the DA’s office to get the ball rolling. Go ahead and move on to the next step for the civil matter, Katie," Norman said.

"Will do. But before we proceed, how exactly do you guys want to handle this?" Katie asked, turning her attention to Bryan, Eric, and Chloe.

With that, they began mapping out their strategy on how to expose everything in a way that left those two with absolutely zero room for denial. They focused on gathering a few more pieces of evidence to lock down their case against them, ensuring that once they struck, those two would be completely finished.

***

Meanwhile, back at the penthouse, Emma, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura were chilling on the couch, watching TV and scrolling through social media on their smartphones. "Bam," Laura suddenly leaned forward and slammed her hand on the coffee table, startling everyone. They all stopped scrolling and stared at her.

"What’s wrong?" Emma asked.

"Ugh... Chloe is out there hitting on Eric all by herself. That is so not fair," Laura complained.

"Hmm... Chloe is handling her business stuff with Eric, you know. Cut her some slack," Priya noted.

"Yeah... no need to get bent out of shape. Besides, Eric is completely oblivious. We could press ourselves right up against him and he still wouldn’t feel a thing," Heidi said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Exactly. It’s like he’s not even into girls. I mean, we’re gorgeous and we’re always around him, yet he doesn’t even blink," Monica added mockingly.

"You’re actually right. We even shared a bed with him and he didn’t react at all. Don’t tell me it’s true... could he actually be into guys instead of girls?" Priya wondered aloud.

"Don’t crush my dreams like that! Even if he is into guys, I’m going to make sure he changes his mind and falls for me," Laura fired back.

"You guys have it all wrong. He’s not oblivious like that, and it’s definitely not because he doesn’t like girls. If you actually knew what happened to him before he came to this city, you wouldn’t be thinking that way at all," Emma stated, clearly trying to defend Eric.

Hearing Emma defend Eric, Laura, Priya, Heidi, and Monica all whipped their heads around to look at her. They moved fast, surrounding Emma—sitting right next to her, standing behind her, and squatting right in front of her. Caught off guard, Emma was too slow to react. She looked at her friends staring her down.

"What? Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Emma asked.

"You know something about Eric, don’t you? Spill it. It’s totally unfair if you’re the only one who knows," Laura replied.

"Yeah, seriously. Come to think of it, you know those two girls who caused that scene at school the other day. You definitely know something," Priya added.

"Come on... tell us, or you’re going to regret it," Monica said, locking her arms around Emma’s neck from behind the couch.

"Right, we all want to know. Hurry up and talk, I’m dying to hear it," Heidi chimed in.

"But... I’d feel bad if I talked about it behind Eric’s back... plus, that whole situation is..."

"Spill!" Laura, Monica, Priya, and Heidi shouted in unison, cutting Emma off completely. Monica tightened her hold around Emma’s neck from behind, Priya pinned one arm and wrapped her legs around Emma’s right leg, while Laura grabbed her other arm and locked down her left leg, completely trapping her.

Meanwhile, Heidi stood in front of her, wiggling her fingers with a sly grin, ready to tickle her. Seeing how serious her friends were, Emma gave in.

"Okay... okay... I’ll tell you! Let go!" Emma yelled in surrender. "Forgive me, Eric... I’m being threatened... sob... sob," Emma thought in her head.