Marcus’s head throbbed as a high-pitched ringing filled his ears. He tried to open his eyes, but they were heavy at first, so he had to do it slowly… very slowly. As he did, light flooded in and blinded him for a moment. Everything was blurry. Then, little by little, shapes began to emerge and come into focus. A soft voice pierced through the haze beside him. “Marcus? Are you okay? Marcus, are you hearing me?” The words anchored him. He blinked hard, forcing his vision to sharpen. White walls, fluorescent lights, the faint smell of antiseptic and clean linen. He was in a hospital room, lying on a crisp hospital bed with monitors beeping steadily around him. Doctors in white coats hovered nearby, checking IV lines and reading charts. And right beside him sat Natalie, her face etched with worry, eyes red-rimmed from lack of sleep. He groaned, instinctively trying to push himself up. Pain lanced through his body, but he kept moving until Natalie’s hands pressed firmly against

Jessica refused to calm down even after the security guards surrounded her. "I said call the police!" she shouted hysterically. "I'll expose all of you!" Seeing that she refused to leave peacefully, the guards finally contacted the authorities. Twenty minutes later, Jessica and Natalie were both seated inside a nearby police station. Jessica pointed angrily at Natalie across the desk. "She's lying! She's preventing me from meeting Mr. Smith. He's one of the Langstone board leaders, and she's abusing her authority to keep me away from him!" The officer behind the desk looked from Jessica to Natalie. Natalie sighed, already exhausted. "Officer, there is no board leader named Mr. Smith at Langstone. In fact, there has never been one." Jessica slammed both palms onto the desk. "Stop lying! I met him! He introduced himself! I even met several other board members that day!" Natalie folded her arms. "And every single one of them was a scammer." Jessica glared at her. The officer

Sorry about the lack of updates, my system was faulty. From tomorrow, will started dropping steadily. Thanks wonderful readers.

Mr. Smith sat comfortably at the sea dock, watching his men load the last of his belongings onto the boat. He had scammed so many people over the past months, and now he was ready to disappear with everything he had taken. One of his men stood beside him, cracking jokes and pouring him drink after drink, trying to keep his mood light. Smith laughed loudly at every joke, grinning from ear to ear, occasionally pulling out wads of cash and spraying it into the air just to watch his men scramble for it. It was already night, and the dock was quiet except for the sound of waves and the distant hum of the boat's engine being prepared. The police had not caught wind of his location, and that alone was enough to make him feel untouchable. He leaned back in his chair, sipping his drink, convinced that by morning he would be far away, out of reach of anyone who wanted to hold him accountable. After a few more minutes, one of his men walked over and said, "Sir, we can go now. Everything is r

Jessica gulped, her voice barely steady. "Wait... you mean this is really my money?" "Yes," the caller repeated. "The money Mr. Smith scammed from you. On top of that, additional compensation was added on behalf of the Langstone family, for the trouble you went through." Jessica could not believe what she was hearing. Her eyes welled up, and for a moment she simply stood there, phone pressed to her ear, feeling the weight of relief crash over her all at once. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. "Thank you," she managed, her voice cracking. "Thank you so much. I am so grateful, really." The call ended, and Jessica lowered the phone slowly, still staring at the screen as if the number might vanish. She turned to Travis, her face lit with disbelief and joy. "You... you were right. Smith has been caught, and my money has been sent back to me." Travis's eyes went wide. He had not expected any of this to actually be true. For a second he just stood there, stunned into silence,