With the gold bars and the necklaces, the monetary value from the heist was around half a million dollars.
"I need to launder this too… Hmmm… Should I try it out?"
I decided to buy a hyper realistic silicon mask to launder everything into a bank. The fake passport could also help if I tweak it a little bit.
There were no centralized systems in this era. Nor was there interstate communications for background checks.
"Let's try it since I have a few days off."
Finally, the last thing on the mansion's safe. Five huge bags of cocaine.
I checked my phone and eavesdropped into the criminal's conversation. I made sure to record everything I could use as evidence against them.
"Now that I think about it, it is really easy for someone to get spied on in the future. There's too many types of hidden cameras out there."
I yawned and recorded everything before falling asleep.
…
The next morning, I woke up to the smell of something great in the kitchen.
I rubbed my face and slowly walked towards it. Since I kept it separate instead of one open space, I couldn't see what was happening until I passed through the door.
"Ah. Good morning Steven–" Ophelia was wearing a white apron and cooking some food on the new stove.
Suddenly she shrieked and said, "Steven! Your clothes! You're only in your underwear!"
"Ah." I realized the little kids were eating at the kitchen island. So I went back to the couch and wrapped my body with a blanket.
"It was so hot last night. I forgot to turn off the timer on the AC." I explained as I looked at what she was doing.
"When did you buy the food?" I asked her after yawning.
"Just now. I went to the store." She replied with a shy expression. "Is it okay?"
"It's fine. I'm going to pick up the fridge today so I'm going to need to buy some groceries anyway."
I was going to walk away since I didn't want to bother them, but Ophelia stopped me and said, "Do you want to eat with us? I've prepared your portion too." She made sandwiches and paired it up with orange juice.
"I'll do it after I take a shower. It's already– It's 12.30!?"
I was surprised when I saw the time on the wall clock. I slept till noon.
It wasn't breakfast anymore. It was lunch.
Patty was coming by to pick up the films today. I already sent out the others to Jonathan yesterday and also received another batch of order from him.
300 more prints, which meant I got another 675 thousand in my wallet.
"I'm going to the office." I told Ophelia. "I'm going to use the room for a bit."
"It's your room!" Ophelia exclaimed with disbelief.
I smiled and said, "Yeah, but I'm trying to be a good host."
"A good host would wake up early so we can watch the morning cartoon." Ophelia's younger brother Adam chimed in. Ophelia slapped his back immediately.
"Oh yeah. I usually watch it too. Why don't you use the TV in my room?" I asked him casually.
His eyes lit up and he turned to Ophelia angrily. "There's a TV in his room?!"
I went to get ready while the siblings bicker.
After taking a shower, I put on an oversized Uniqlo summer shirt and pleated linen pants since it was really hot today.
Patty and I met at a restaurant near the office. She was already there waiting when I pulled into the parking lot.
"Sorry. I'm late." "It's only five minutes." She dismissed the apology. "But you're buying today."
"Fair enough."
Patty gestured to the man beside her.
"This is J. Michael Straczynski. A college student. Aspiring writer."
I shook his hand and introduced myself, "Steven Hyde."
"I know who you are." He shook my hand enthusiastically. "I watched your TV specials and the documentary. I'm a fan."
I checked his name on the internet. He'd go on to make a few projects in the future.
Babylon 5. Changeling. Comic books.
He was someone I really needed right now.
"So." Patty has an amused smile, "I heard somebody trashed your studio."
"Yup."
A waiter arrived with a menu. I ordered quickly and handed it back.
"You need security." She asked.
"Does this happen often in Hollywood?"
Patty laughed. "More often than you think. Especially when drugs are involved."
"Good to know."
"Are you postponing the racing movie?"
"No. I'll shoot the exterior scenes first. Racing. Action. Fight sequences. Once the studio is repaired, I'll do the interiors." "Good." Patty nodded. "Delays cost money."
She pulled a script from her bag.
"This is a draft for The Question. Read it if you want."
"So I can't do whatever I want with it?" I said playfully.
"You can." Patty slid the script back into her bag. "But if you're planning to ignore it anyway, save me the effort and tell me your version."
I grinned. "Fair enough."
For the next half hour, I walked them through my plot. Michael started taking notes halfway through without realizing it.
When I finished, Patty folded her arms. "It's dark." She commented.
"Really dark." Michael nodded. "You're getting an R rating with this."
"But, is it fun?" I asked.
"Yes." Michael answered immediately.
Patty sighed. "Unfortunately, it is."
I turned to the man and asked, "Want to write it?"
Patty interjected, "Did you just poach my writer?"
"Hey, you brought him here." I smiled mischievously. "Got to assume it's for me."
I looked at Michael. "Anything I can do to sweeten the deal?"
"Food, transportation, and a place to sleep would be nice too." He replied.
He was still a broke college student right now so it was an essential thing for him.
"I'll rent you a house in Kenosha. You can borrow a car from my dealership." I replied.
I had already bought a couple of houses in Green Bay and in Kenosha. Paid for it in cash through Jerry.
They weren't dilapidated houses, so I could easily fix it up for him.
We finalized the recruitment with a handshake.
Patty waited until the deal was finished. Then, she asked, "Now. About this writing software."
"I'll be selling it soon." I replied quickly.
"You should wait."
"I already patented it."
"That's not what I'm worried about."
Patty tapped the table.
"If government agencies start using your software for records, permits, IDs, or official documents, somebody will eventually use it to make counterfeits."
"Before you release it, get government contracts. Get banks. Get insurance companies. Get somebody important using it officially. Or custom made the software for them."
I nodded as I understood her train of thought.
"Alright. I guess I'll do it that way."
We talked about a few more things during lunch. Then, I gave the film copies to Patty. She needed 50 copies, and that already filled up the delivery van she rented to move it to L.A.
"It is really fast. I'll spread the words about your service to the others in the industry." Patty said with a grin. "Of course, if you give a cut, I could get Warner Bros to print all of their films with you."
I smiled and said, "Oh. I don't think I can handle that. The current orders volume is already too much for the lab."
She scowled and said, "You're gatekeeping it huh?"
"Obviously." I grinned.
"Good boy." She complimented me and left. "You know, you should really invest in an airport in this town. I have to drive so far away just to come here."
Green Bay has an airport. The problem was that it still left her an hour away from Point Place.
And by the time it took for her to transfer the flight from Chicago to Green Bay, she could've already spent one hour in this town.
There was also a private charter in Sheboygan. If she could use the WB private jet, she could land really close to Point Place. But she didn't have that kind of power yet.
"Once the printing business is confirmed, you can use the company private jet to come straight here, as long as you're picking up and sending the prints, right?"
Patty's eyes lit up as she heard it. She left soon after as she needed to distribute the theatrical prints.
J. Micheal check into a hotel room for now until I set up the living arrangement for him.
I checked the office and the mansion recording as I drove to Chicago.
'Let's shake things up a bit.'
After calling a few of my people, we went to Chicago together. …
Happy Days Loan Office.
I entered the building with a few policemen as my escorts. I made sure to pick someone who's not bought off by the loan sharks here.
Bruce introduced me to a few councilmen in Chicago. That's how I managed to get the Chief of Police to come here with me today.
"Hello. I'm here to claim the damages~" I said cheerfully as I entered the office door. Thirty scary looking men were inside the room.
A wrinkled old man, sharply dressed and carried a cane in his hand was the only one sitting on the couch. His white hair was slicked back, revealing his M shaped baldness with confidence.
"Oh. You're finally here." He greeted me with a friendly tone, not even bothering to stand up.
I sat down facing him and crossed my leg. "You brought everyone with you. I guess it doesn't hurt to call ahead, right? Finbar Byrne."
The old man flinched for a second before saying, "What do you mean? My name is Alberto Manfreddi."
"Enough messing around. I don't really care about your identity. I assume you know why I am here?"
He paused for a bit before saying, "I have to admit, you have some backbone. But a youngster like you who doesn't know how the world works, should've been more careful on–"
"I didn't come here for a lecture." I brought the document his employees stamped before. "I just want my money. Also, I want to check the loan document for Richard Benson."
"Why?" He asked, his face alarmed. "You have no power–"
I took out another document. "Oh, but I do. Ophelia and I are going to be working together for a long time.
She signed a power of attorney authorizing me to handle her financial affairs."
I slid the paper across the table.
"Which means I have every right to review any debt, loan, payment history, or contract tied to her name."
The boss went silent.
Frank "Dirty Teeth" Marino—the man who attacked the studio yesterday—growled at me.
Literally.
Like a rabid dog.
The police chief finally spoke. "Just do it. The sooner we finish this, the sooner I leave."
He was here as a favor. The last thing he wanted was to get dragged into whatever this place was hiding.
The boss waved his hand. "Bring me the file."
Two men walked to the filing cabinets.
A minute later, their expressions changed.
"Boss..."
"What?"
"There aren't any files."
The room went quiet. The boss frowned.
"What do you mean there aren't any files?" "The cabinets are empty."
His cane struck the floor.
"Then check again!"
The men scrambled to another cabinet.
Then another.
Then another.
The police chief's patience evaporated. "Enough."
His voice cut through the room. "Produce the documents right now, or you can all follow me back to the station."
The boss forced a smile. "There must be some mistake."
The Police Chief said firmly, "Then find them."
His face began to pale. "Maybe my lawyer has them."
He rushed to the phone and called. No files. Another call. No files. A third.
Nothing.
Frank leaned toward him and whispered, "The safe."
The boss immediately pointed to the safe behind the painting, "Open it."
One of the men hurried over. The lock clicked.
The door swung open. But the safe was empty.
The color drained from the boss's face.
"Damn it."
For the first time since I entered the office, he looked genuinely rattled. "We've been robbed."
I leaned back in my chair, faking an irked expression. It was quite hard to stop myself from smiling, but as long as I kept thinking about Jackie, my face turned sour without me even needing to pretend much.
"So there are no files?" I asked.
"There were files!" he snapped. "We've been robbed!"
He turned toward the police chief. "I'd like to file a report—"
"Enough." The police chief cut him off.
I let out a long sigh. "You harassed a minor for two years."
Everyone turned their attention towards me.
"I've reviewed Ophelia's payment records. You've taken more than seventeen thousand dollars from her. You said her debt is 50 grand, without even showing her the document."
I looked around the room.
"And today, when asked to prove the debt existed, you can't produce a single piece of paperwork."
The silence became heavier.
"No contract."
I pointed toward the cabinets.
"No debt file."
Then toward the safe.
"No payment ledger."
I looked directly at the boss. "So from where I'm sitting, this is starting to sound less like debt collection and more like fraud and extortion."
Frank's hand immediately drifted toward the gun in his waistband. Every officer in the room stiffened.
The police chief's eyes narrowed.
"Don't." The boss stopped him.
Frank slowly lifted his hand away. "Boss, this is a setup."
He pointed at me. "He must've taken the files before he came here."
I smiled. "Interesting theory. How exactly did I steal them?"
The chief folded his arms and interrogated Frank.
"Any signs of forced entry?"
"What? No."
"Broken windows?"
"No."
"Damaged locks?"
"No."
"Witnesses?"
Frank's confidence started fading.
The boss answered instead. "No."
The police chief nodded.
"Then explain why I should believe there was a robbery." Nobody had an answer. I looked around the room.
"Honestly, an inside job sounds more believable."
Several men shifted uncomfortably.
I smiled. "Unless, of course, somebody decided to clean out the office before the police arrived."
"Maybe there's something in there that the police chief absolutely can't see?" I added coyly.
"Anyway. If you give back the money, pay her some mental compensation for being harassed by you for three years, and give me my money for the equipment damage, I can just walk out of here without pursuing this thing any longer."
Right now, I had planted a narrative inside the Police Chief and the loan shark boss's mind that I was only here for the money.
After squeezing them for compensation, I had washed my hands away from the whole mess.
If I forced it by having the police investigate the people, they could link the robbery back to me.
The boss gritted his teeth and said, "What will the compensation be?"
"Ah, Chief. You're worked hard. But now I have to have a private conversation with the man."
The police chief sighed and walked away from the room.
"Just double what she pays you, that'll be it. So it's 149 grand in total. Let's just round it off to 150."
The boss reluctantly gave me a check for the amount. I gave it to my assistant and said, "Go to the bank and cash it right away. I don't want to be another victim of fraud here." "Okay boss." Jonathan went to the bank like I ordered him too.
"So are we done here?" The police chief asked me.
"I'm done." I replied casually.
Honestly it was a bit disappointing. He didn't even bother to check anything in this place or arrest some people.
'He's not someone I can trust with the ledger.'
I drove to the bank and picked up the cash before driving back to the town.
Through the hidden camera, I saw that the boss was fuming.
{'Find me the one who stole all of the files! Right now!'} He shouted while he beat up the employees with a cane.
I kept watching to find any weaknesses I could exploit. Whether it was the boss's connections or his activities.
"It's hard to find a good person in this day and age." I sighed. "Maybe I'd do it the chaotic way and send copies of the ledger to everyone I can think of?"
That didn't seem like a bad idea. I went to my print shop– the Chicago branch that just opened and copied the ledger.
Then, I sent it out to several news outlets, the prosecutor's office, and several policemen, but still keeping the original ledger.
"What kind of chaos will it bring?" I smiled in anticipation. "I can't wait." Chapter 127: Compensation.
[Hyde POV]
In the Forman's basement. Fez was telling me a story of a drunk Jackie asking him to kiss her. She even said she'll let him go further than just kissing.
But he listened to Batman in his mind instead of the Riddler. It was like Fez's version of Angel and Devil.
"Then she fell asleep, and I stroked her hair." Fez finished the story while he stood behind the couch.
I sat on my usual seat and said, "You did the right thing, Fez, but a word of advice. Next time you tell the story, you nailed her before she got drunk, just right after you won the competition."
"That's better." Fez nodded in agreement.
Kelso stood near the shower and said, "Yeah, but, you know, it's better you didn't...
'cause scammin' on another guy's woman- That's totally breaking the code."
"Kelso. She's not your girl anymore. You're like the loser guy who went on one date with a girl and thought about her for years after." I mocked him.
"Hey! I'm just worried about her as a friend! Is that so wrong?"
Eric entered the basement door with an angry look. He shouted, "Donna told me what you did, you dill-hole!"
He pushed Kelso on the couch and started pounding him.
Kelso shouted while grunting, "No, she's lying!"
Fez and I looked at each other and shrugged. Then, we joined in and pinned Kelso with Eric.
"Oh! That's my nipple!" Kelso shouted in pain. We beat him for a while until he squirmed free and ran away from the basement.
"So, what did he do?" I asked Eric.
"He tried to feel up and kiss Donna." Eric replied angrily.
Fez waited for a while before asking, "So. Did he do that? What's it like feeling up Donna?"
"Soft– I mean, NO! She swatted him away!" Eric shouted in frustration.
"So it's soft huh?" I teased.
"Really soft." He turned to me. "Now that I have beat up Kelso, I'm going to go over there to claim my prize."
As Eric left, Fez talked to me, "Hyde. I'm starting to regret not having sex with Jackie right now."
I swung my hand over his shoulder and said, "I know Fez. But you did the right thing. It's never a good idea to sleep with a drunk girl. So now, let's go get drunk."
"Okie." He replied casually. We bought some beers and drank for hours. Then, I sent him back to his host parent's house.
…
When I got back to my house, I was a little tipsy so I struggled to open the door with my key.
But, Ophelia opened the door for me.
"Hey, you shouldn't open the door without asking who's there first. What if I'm a stranger?!" I scolded her drunkenly.
She rolled her eyes and said, "I saw you through the peephole. Why did you get so drunk?!" "Oh. Fez is sad because he can't sleep with Jackie. So we drank some beers."
I explained and walked straight to the couch.
Ophelia sighed and said, "I was really worried about you. You could've called."
"I'm sorry." I apologized quickly. "Ah, so here." I reached into my jacket and took out three rolls of cash. Then, I threw it to her.
She caught everything despite not being ready.
"What's this?" She asked, confused.
"It's your money." I replied as I laid down on the couch.
"What?!" She was confused. "What money?"
"The loan money. They have no files on you. So I squeezed them to pay you compensation."
Ophelia was startled. "Why did you do that?" She asked, panicked. "Now they are–"
"They ain't gonna do nothing." I replied with an amused laugh. "I went there with the Chicago Police Chief. He can't do anything to me."
"Police Chief?" She was confused.
I turned to her and said, "Don't worry. I'm going to protect you. So live your life however you want."
Grabbing her shoulder, I pulled her in and kissed her on the forehead. Then, I flopped down on the couch and went right to sleep.
…
The next morning, I woke up with a strong headache.
"Ugh. How much did I drink last night?"
Fez and I drank over 7 jugs of beer altogether. I went to grab some coffee from the coffeemaker in the kitchen and saw Adam– Ophelia's brother eating cereal on the kitchen island.
His eyes followed me as I poured the coffee for myself. I turned to him and he immediately asked, "When is the fridge coming?"
"Oh. Right. The fridge." I rubbed my forehead and said, "I'll pick it up after the coffee."
"Do you have any bike I can borrow?" He asked.
"You don't have a bike?" I asked him back.
"No." He shook his head. "I guess I'll grab a ride to the movie theater."
I nodded and said, "I can grab you a bike if you want."
"Really?" His eyes lit up and he turned to Ophelia angrily. "Thanks… But I'm not going to ask for your charity."
"No, your sister can pay for it." I replied teasingly.
He scowled, incredibly annoyed. "She's dealing with too much already! I can't make her pay for my bike!"
'Her siblings are responsible people. They sure are close with each other.'
It made me a bit jealous to be honest.
A phone call interrupted the conversation. I went to pick it up after putting down my cup of coffee.
"Oh. Randy. So, did it happen?"
My print company employee who moved to Chicago called to tell me the news.
"A few papers reported on the ledger. It's all over the news. Even the TV news is reporting it. They are making several arrests. Even that guy, Finn Byrne, got arrested."
"Good. Call me again at lunch to update the development."
After hanging up the call, I went to pick up the fringe. It was already delivered in the system, so I just put it in the garage. Then, I used a dolly to bring it inside the house.
It was a side-by-side door fridge with a manual ice-maker. It's quite huge compared to the fridge in this era.
I installed it by myself. Ophelia noticed it when I was almost done.
"Hello Steven." She was blushing as she greeted me.
"Your face's red. Do you have a fever?" I asked, touching her forehead abruptly.
Her eyes widened and she laughed awkwardly, "What? No. I don't have a fever."
"You kinda do." I said with concern. "You're burning up. Get some rest. I'll bring you some medicine."
"Oh. Okay." She replied meekly and went to sit on the couch.
"I guess her body is in shock. She must've been really stressed out for years because of the loan sharks."
Taking out some modern medicines, I made sure she was comfortable in my bedroom before going out to buy some groceries with Mrs. Forman.
…
Piggly Wiggly. The grocery superstore.
"I need to buy chicken for tonight. Eric is already tired of eating the meatloaf." Mrs. Forman said giddily as she put in the fresh chicken inside the trolley.
"That ungrateful bastard." I cursed Eric casually. Mrs. Forman giggled and said, "No. He's not ungrateful. He's just a picky eater. That's why he's so skinny."
She burst into laughter. I grabbed some carrots and other vegetables while she wasn't looking.
"Let's see. Those kids need some dinner too. They ate only sandwiches last night."
I grabbed a lot of stuff while Mrs. Forman wasn't looking. She conveniently met a friend while I was paying, so she didn't even notice the ballooning price of the groceries.
"Steven, are you eating at home tonight?" She asked as she grabbed the food from my car. We were already back at the Forman's house after shopping.
"No, I have plans with some friends–"
As I replied to it, I realized the Roller Disco episode had ended. The one where Jackie and Fez had their rollerskating competition in Kenosha.
[Episode 4– Roller Disco.
New Rating: 7.5
Old Rating: 7.1
Rating point: +0.4]
"Okay. However I have a feeling that I'm going to make something special tonight. I'll save a portion for you in the fridge. You can eat them when you get home!"
Mrs. Forman entered the house with her groceries. I sighed and went to the basement to check out the episode.
However, I saw Fez laying down on the stairs to the basement, fully drunk.
I stepped over him and walked into the basement living room.
Jackie was sitting on the couch. She was startled and stood up immediately as she saw me.
"S-Steven! I've been waiting for you!"
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"I just need to talk to you."
"There's nothing to talk about. Just go on with your life. I already am." I replied casually.
"You're moving on?" She was taken aback.
"Of course. I have a date tonight." I lied.
Tonight I wanted to finish editing the comedy movie.
Fez groaned slightly. I turned back to him and said, "I should probably move him inside."
After I laid Fez down on the couch, I left the Forman's house.
"Oh. I forgot the bike."
Therefore for the first time ever, I'm going to shop at PriceMart. But I planned on stopping by the house first to drop off the groceries.
Before driving off, I sat in the car to order some food first.
"I should buy Ophelia some soup."
It was almost lunchtime, so I figured it would be better for me to just buy food for the kids instead of ingredients to make some.
"Let's buy it from Italy."
I bought four authentic pizzas, five lasagnas, a tray of tiramisu, and minestrone soup for Ophelia. It would arrive thirty minutes later.
Suddenly, Jackie knocked on the car door. I rolled it down slightly and asked, "What?"
"I have been thinking about the other day. I just want to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blamed you for what Micheal did."
"Good to know." I raised the window back up. Jackie gasped, fully offended.
"Hey you son of a bitch!" She knocked on the door again.
I rolled it down a little bit and asked with annoyance, "What now?"
"You should apologize too!" She snapped at me.
"Not going to happen." I gave her a peace signal and started the car. But then, she jumped onto the car windshield, blocking me from leaving.
"Are you insane?!" I asked, fully shocked.
"Say you're sorry too!" She demanded.
"Not. Going. To. Happen!" I said gruffly and turned on the water sprinkler.
"No! Turn it off!"
"Get off my car!" I shouted.
Suddenly, Donna and Eric rushed to the car. "Jackie! Hyde! What are you guys doing?!" Donna pulled Jackie off the car.
"He's not going to apologize to me!" Jackie shouted. "Even though I apologize first!"
"Hyde!" Eric knocked on my window. I turned it off fully and said, "That bitch's crazy."
"Are you guys still fighting about this?" Donna was exasperated. "I'm not." I said and I just drove away.
Jackie ran to the street, shouting, "Come back here!"
…
Back at my house, as I was putting on the groceries in the fridge, I received a notification that the food had arrived.
So I took them all up and placed them on the kitchen island.
"Hey. Children! Come eat." I shouted as I had no idea where they were.
Adam came first since he was in the living room. Nina and Lily were in the backyard, and they were a little dirty as they came in.
"Go wash your hands first."
They listened and washed their hands on the kitchen sink.
I was preparing to deliver food to Ophelia inside the bedroom, but she had come out and joined us in the kitchen.
"Hey, you're okay?" I asked her with concern.
She smiled and said, "I don't know what medicine you gave me, but it works great."
I touched her forehead and exclaimed in relief. "Thank goodness. I can't have my star collapsing on me when the shoot is going to start again next week."
"Maybe it's because you have this shoot so closely together?" She said playfully.
"I only have 5 more weeks till summer ends. I have 3 movies to shoot, and I'm already behind on all of them."
Our eyes met and we burst into laughter. Sensing the weird atmosphere, Adam blurted out, "Are you two dating?"
"What?!" Ophelia was shook. "No, we're– We're not dating. He's dating Sarah."
"That's right." I nodded casually.
Ophelia narrowed her eyes at me weirdly. "I wanted to ask you about that. You said you're not dating the people you work with. So why break the rule for her?"
"Because she told me she wasn't planning on becoming an actress." I replied truthfully. "She's going back to Brown University this fall. So it's just a summer fling."
"Oh." Ophelia exclaimed flatly. "So you didn't break the rule."
Adam teased his sister, "Why do you look disappointed?"
"Shut up and eat your pizza!" She shoved the food into his mouth.
"I'm going to Price Mart after this. I'm going to buy Adam a bike."
Nina, the youngest, immediately chimed in, "What about me?! I want a bike!"
"Nina!" Ophelia admonished her. "Wait, I have money now." She realized it and said, "Okay. We'll buy bikes for everyone. For Lily too."
I took everyone to PriceMart and bought Schwinn's bike for everyone. It cost 80 dollars each, and was considered a premium bike for a small town.
Ophelia tried to pay for it, but I wouldn't let her.
'If I bought these bikes through the system, I only needed to pay 10 bucks for each.' I sighed inwardly.
But it was more important for the kids to be able to pick the bikes they wanted themselves. It was a good day. I even bought a trampoline for the kids to play with and set it up in the backyard. Of course, I bought it through Walmart online instead of buying it at PriceMart.
It was a trampoline with a net. Heavy duty so it could afford the kids playing in there all at once.
It was priced at 300 bucks. I bought it for only thirty.
We went to the mall to buy new clothes. Ophelia even bought a game console her brother wanted for so long.
The sisters got new toys. And Ophelia even splurged for herself. But when she bought a dress for herself, she immediately regretted it.
"The clothes you gave me are much nicer than this." She sighed.
"Of course they are nicer. They cost a whole lot more." I grimaced.
"How much is the clothes you gave her?" Adam asked me innocently.
"I don't know? Around 300 bucks each."
Even the shopkeeper froze as she heard it.
"That's so expensive." Ophelia was startled.
"Why are you shocked? You're an actress. This is going to be the norm for you. So it's better to get used to it right now." I said teasingly.
The system chimed in when I was walking past the Cineplex I was building in the mall. There was a launch date on the billboard there. It will be open in two weeks.
I checked the system notification for the delivery. 'Oh. The mask had arrived.'
The hyper-realistic mask only sells one version of the face. It was an old man.
Too bad the banks were already closed for this week. I had to try to launder all of the cash I have next week. 'There's still one more day. I'm getting antsy.'
While searching for the hyper realistic mask, I stumbled into several stores that sell hyper realistic monster masks.
"That will make my job easier for the monster movie."
…
Tonight, Ophelia decided to share rooms with her sisters, so I could use my bedroom to edit the movie.
"I thought I'd have to stay in the office all night long. This is fine too."
Two monitors were set up on the table. One for the movie editing. Another one was for monitoring.
"He bailed himself out. As I thought, the money in the safe isn't the only one he has."
The loan shark boss finally found out that his floor safe was gone. He was so angry since it proved that there was a mole inside his subordinates.
"Oho. So you're going to use bait to rat out the mole?"
I listened to his talk with Dirty Teeth. He is planning on putting some money inside a safe, and leaks the news to his subordinate one by one.
"Too bad. All of the money will go to me."
I edited the movie all night long while grinning at the prospect of getting free money.
The money would be used for improving the town and entering the scholarship funds for talented students.
I edited the movie for 8 straight hours, and I barely completed a quarter of it.
"I guess I'll finish it in three days." While I was editing, I saw something interesting in the monitoring screen.
Dirty Teeth were talking with the boss.
{"That bastard who squeezed me. Find out where he lives. And get me back my money!}"
The boss also ordered Dirty Teeth to find Ophelia and get her to resign the document.
"As if I'm going to let that happen." I snickered.
The boss told Dirty Teeth to lay low for now, so their counter attack would start next week.
I guess even criminals were taking the weekends off.
…
Ophelia and the children were church goers. So naturally they went to church early Sunday morning.
I heard knocks on my door which woke me up from my sleep. I opened the door groggily and saw Nina, the youngest kid, standing in front of it.
"Why are you still sleeping? It's time to go to church!" She scolded me.
Ophelia was startled as she saw it from afar. She grabbed Nina and pulled her away from me.
"Steven. I'm sorry for that."
"No. It's fine." I yawned.
"You need to go to church! Or you'll go to hell!" Nina shouted again. Ophelia cupped her mouth to prevent her from speaking.
"She sure has a temper." I commented and said, "Lia. It's fine. You can let her go." Ophelia reluctantly moved her hands away.
Nina looked at me angrily and asked, "Are you not going?"
"I'm not." I shook my head, which made the little girl's temper flared up again.
But as she clenched her fist, trying to convince me again, I interjected.
"God and I are good. We're… tight. He said that if I helped around town and did nice things, I wouldn't have to go to church anymore."
"Huh? Do nice things?" She was confused. "Like what?"
"Like taking us in." Ophelia admonished her sister. "So stop bothering him. He's up all night working. He barely slept. Why would you bother him from getting some rest?!"
Nina turned teary. "But– But my friend Samanta said that–"
I laughed and calmed Ophelia down. "It's fine. She's just worried about my soul. So don't get mad at her. When someone cares enough to worry about me, I am really grateful for them."
"Really?" Ophelia was taken aback.
Nina's eyes lit up and she asked, "So you'll go?"
"No. I'm going to sleep and meet god in my dream." I yawned and went back to bed.
"You jerk!" Nina shouted at me. Ophelia quickly closed the door and brought her sister away.
Mrs. Forman tried to get me to church for almost a year, but she didn't succeed. A hot tempered little girl wouldn't be able to do what Mrs. Forman failed to do, and I consider that woman a mother.
"I guess she had opened up to me to show her true personality." I mumbled before I went to sleep again. "That's a good thing."