Suddenly, I Am Rich

The chaos had died down after the officers arrived.

All that remained now were the marks on the ground, the thugs finally calming down, Rome and Gray standing on the side, and the police questioning the unfortunate suspect who had been left behind by his peers.

Everyone was wrapped in silence.

Across the street, one of the men who had tried to coerce Rome into withdrawing his statement was now handcuffed and slouched against the police car, surrounded by officers.

The man’s expensive dress shirt was ripped into pieces, and he had bruises and marks from the thugs’ beating, looking pitiful in his current state. The other men had fled, but he hadn’t been fast enough, and now he was the one left behind.

Rome watched him from a distance. Even though everything was done, he still looked pale.

Two black cars pulled up not long after, moving quietly, and the doors opened as soon as the engine stopped.

Marcus stepped out of one of the cars, straightening the sleeves of his dress shirt. He arrived calm, sharp, and composed even after what had happened.

He took one look at the scene and didn’t blink.

Within seconds, he was walking toward the officers, exchanging words with them, smiling, shaking hands, and nodding. Marcus was handling it as smoothly as he could, showing his experience in such situations.

He handed over some documents and pointed at Gray, and the officer seemed to understand. A few minutes later, Marcus walked back toward them, his pace steady and his face unreadable.

”It’s all handled, Sir,” Marcus said calmly, coming to a stop beside Gray. ”I gave them the recorded logs, the suspect’s identity, and submitted your call timestamp. We just need the man to confess to being hired for coercion, and it’ll move quickly.”

Gray let out a slow breath.

”So it’s not done yet,” he sighed and shook his head, feeling disappointed.

”No,” Marcus replied. ”But it’s close. The moment he confirms who sent him, we’ll have the leverage we need.”

Gray’s eyes drifted back to the man slumped against the police car, who couldn’t even lift his head anymore, his pride taking a harder hit than all the bruises on his body.

”And if he doesn’t talk?”

Marcus tilted his head slightly.

”Then we let him take his time. Either way, the fact that he showed up and tried to intimidate a witness during an active investigation is already serious. It’s grounds for police involvement and grounds for termination.”

”So we can fire Will now?” Gray quickly glanced at him.

”Not just fire him,” Marcus said. ”Depending on how it ties together, we might be able to open a case for conspiracy or obstruction. If it’s proven that Will contacted someone to attempt to silence a witness on his behalf, it stops being an internal issue.”

Gray nodded slowly, his jaw tightening. At least there was some good news in the situation.

”Then we won’t stop here.”

Marcus looked satisfied. He smiled at Gray and nodded.

”We won’t.” Then his tone softened a little. Marcus looked past Gray toward the quiet boy behind them.

”As for him,” Marcus added, ”we’ve arranged a temporary place already. Somewhere secure. He’ll be safer there until this settles.”

Gray turned toward Rome.

”Rome,” his voice was low as he called for him. ”I know this is a lot. But I think it’s better if you don’t go back to this place yet.”

Rome looked up slowly, his eyes tired but still nodded.

”I figured that...”

”Don’t worry. We’ve prepared a safe unit under a company affiliate. Just for a few days. You’ll be monitored and protected there. It’s not permanent. It’s just until we’re sure they won’t come back,” Marcus added to assure him.

Rome was quiet for a moment, then gave a slight and reluctant nod.

”...Okay.”

Marcus gave a small gesture to one of the officers, and after a few seconds, a plain black company vehicle pulled closer to them.

”You can board inside, Rome. They’ll take you to the place and make sure you have what you need.”

”Thank you, Sir,” Rome deeply bowed his head, his eyes almost teary with gratitude.

”You’re welcome,” Gray said simply. ”Get some rest. We’ll finish this.”

Rome stepped toward the car without another word. Before climbing in, he turned back toward Gray and smiled at the man.

Gray smiled back.

Rome climbed into the car, and it drove away silently, leaving behind only the hum of engines and the distant sound of the police talking to each other from the other side of the street.

Gray and Marcus walked to their own car in silence.

Only when they were inside did Marcus finally speak again.

”I’ve already contacted the legal department. They’re drafting an internal incident report to attach this event to Will’s upcoming hearing.”

Gray exhaled slowly, adjusting his seatbelt as the car started to move.

”Good... because I want everything on record.”

Marcus gave a short nod.

”They’ll flag it as a major incident. The police intervention changes the weight of the case. Originally, this was about Will’s misconduct and abuse of authority, but now we have attempted witness coercion. And depending on what the suspect says during questioning, it could also be obstruction.”

Gray leaned his head back slightly and looked out the window.

”Even if the guy refuses to speak, the attempt alone is enough to classify the whole case as aggravated misconduct. At minimum, HR can proceed with termination under gross violation of ethical conduct. The board has no choice but to support it.

”That’s good,” Gray’s jaw twitched. ”And at maximum?”

”Criminal charges,” Marcus said plainly. ”For him or anyone tied to this attempt.”

”I see.”

Silence followed afterward

Gray closed his eyes for a moment, letting the tension drain slowly from his shoulders. And when he opened them, there was already another look on his face.

Maybe taking it slow was never the answer from the start.

”I changed my mind already, Marcus. I’m done playing fair. I want everything to be done tomorrow.”

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A/N:

I’ve been receiving some comments about typos and occasionally mixing up ”his” and ”hers” lately. I’ll admit—I haven’t been paying much attention to those details lately. But I’ve realized it does affect your reading experience, so I’ll do my best to proofread and edit the Chapters more carefully before uploading.

Thank you so much for your patience and support!