No Way Back

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 Jane Is A Thief

Madelyn slapped her hands over her lips.

It was as if the words had stumbled out of her mouth unintentionally.

It had been an accident. She hadn’t intended to say that.

It didn’t matter, though. What was done was done.

An idiot could tell what Madelyn was trying to insinuate.

Dwayne whirled around and narrowed his eyes at Jane. There was a dangerous edge to his voice “You stole the money from us!”

The tone of his voice was firm and devoid of hesitation.

It was as if he had witnessed Jane’s theft with his own eyes and had concrete evidence of her crime. Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

A loud hiss filled the room.

Everyone gasped in shock.

The staff who had attended to Jane was stunned.

What if Jane had stolen money from Fowler to buy the car?

They would’ve given away the car for nothing if the Fowler family decided not to pay for it!

“Janie is not a thief! She paid for the car with her own hard–earned money!”

Lila hissed angrily.

She had never been so upset at anyone before.

The Fowler family was truly detestable!

“Her own hard–earned money? Are you joking? She’s a student!”

Dwayne knew that Jane was a sophomore at the University of Oricle.

A Porsche Cayenne costs 150 grand. The average college student wouldn’t be able to afford it.

The only way she could pay for the car was if she worked as a sex worker.

Dwayne did not say that.

Jane couldn’t possibly resort to sex work.

Besides, if Jane had been prostituting herself, the Fowler family would have found out.

They would have done their best to avoid such vermin instead of recognizing her as part of the family and trying to welcome her back into the fold.

“Janie, were the rumors spreading in the campus of you hanging out with strange men in bars in the middle of the night true then? How could you have something so foolish?”

Madelyn blurted out the suspicions that Dwayne was harboring.

The look on her face was of concern. She seemed genuinely worried that Jane might have gone astray.

Her voice was stern and disapproving.

What the hell!

If the Porsche 4S dealer’s office staff could escape the unfolding family drama right now, they would. What had they gotten themselves into?

Apparently, the young lady of the Fowler family had been prostituting herself before her family found her. Honestly, she could probably make a quick buck with her looks.

In fact, she must have gotten many clients to afford a Porsche Cayenne that cost over a hundred grand. But none of them would dare share what they had learned in the office with anyone. Nobody dared to incur the Fowler family’s wrath. If the Fowler family were to find out that they had talked, it would be the end of them. They wouldn’t be able to make a living in Stormton City anymore.

You needed to have a certain level of professionalism to be hired as a staff at the Porsche 4S dealer’s office. That didn’t stop the staff from eying Jane with contempt, though.

“She’s such a young, pretty lady. I wouldn’t have expected someone like her to have gone into that profession.”

“You really can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“Well, we’ve seen plenty of wannabes like her around in our line of work.”

“She’s a lady of the Fowler family! What if someone finds out? She’ll be laughed out of town!”

Dwayne frowned.

Why had Madelyn said that?

She must know that the Fowlers wouldn’t acknowledge Jane’s identity and try to welcome her back into their fold if Jane had indeed been working as a sex worker.

But judging from the worried look on Madelyn’s face, she didn’t seem to be feigning her concern.

Dwayne decided to speak up and clear the air.

He wasn’t doing it to help Jane.

He was doing it to save the Fowler family from embarrassment.

Who knew if someone might take this opportunity to spread malicious rumors and ruin their family’s reputation?

“Shut your mouth!”

Lila glared murderously at Madelyn. “I’ll rip your tongue out of your mouth if you start spewing rubbish about Jane again!”

Lila was a demure, polite young woman. Madelyn must have infuriated her so badly that she had started cursing at her.

“I’m just worried that Janie might have gotten herself into something terrible…”

Madelyn dipped her head like a child who had tried to hold and had gotten reprimanded for it.

The sight of his sister’s forlorn look had Dwayne swallowing his words and glaring at Lila. Any desire to clear up the air died instantly. Instead, he was ready to defend Madelyn again.

“Hello?”

Jane pulled out her phone and made a call then.

“Is this the police station? I want to file a report. Someone tried to defame me and slander my good name.

“This is our address…”

This was unbelievable.

Was Jane calling the cops?

Nobody had expected her to do that.

Dwayne started yelling at Jane as soon as she ended the call. “Are you out of your mind? Why did you call the cops? Do you really want to get thrown into prison for stealing from your own family?”

“Isn’t that what you want?

“Besides, I didn’t steal anything. There’s a security camera in the office. I have evidence and witnesses to back me up.”

Jane said before ignoring Dwayne completely.

“Janie, go ahead and file a report. I believe you! You’re no thief!”

Lila said firmly. She was undoubtedly on Jane’s side.

Dwayne found himself wavering at the sight before him.

Maybe Janie hadn’t stolen the money after all. Could she have honestly earned it herself?

Was it simply a bluff?

If Jane were to end up in prison and the news of her incarceration was to get out, the Fowler family’s reputation would end up suffering.

But there was nothing Dwayne could do about that now.

All he could do was wait for the cops to arrive.

“Who called the cops?”

“I did.”

Jane stepped forward.

“Sir, I filed the report. These two individuals defamed me by calling me a thief and abusing me verbally. I recorded everything.

Jane pulled her phone out and played what Dwayne and Madelyn had said earlier.

Dwayne and Madelyn froze in alarm.

They hadn’t expected Jane to record their conversation.

She had set them up!

The cop, James Holland, had been serving as an officer for many years. He frowned after listening to the recording and turned toward Dwayne and Madelyn.

“Are there any grounds for the young lady’s complaint?”

His voice had turned chilly.

“Well, I want to file a report too. She stole 150 thousand dollars from the Fowler family.”

Dwayne said darkly.

Jane had resorted to unscrupulous means and recorded their conversation secretly.

Why should Dwayne care about her reputation, then?

She was going to get what she had coming.

She can’t blame Dwayne for being a heartless brother who didn’t show mercy when she was thrown into prison

James eyed Dwayne and the others. They were clearly not your ordinary citizen. The cop pinched the bridge of his nose.

He brought Jane and everyone back to the station to take their statements.

Then, he requested a copy of the security tapes, collected whatever evidence that was available, and took the

statements of the witnesses.

Back at the police station.

James had heard everyone’s accounts and taken their statements.

“In conclusion, Mr. Fowler, you believe that before Ms. Jane Fowler renounced her relationship with the

Fowler family and during the 15 days she had been residing with your family, she had stolen money from the Fowlers and transferred it to her account.”

“She must have done it! How else could an ordinary sophomore get 150 grand to buy a car?”

Lila wanted to say something when she heard what Dwayne had said, but Jane stopped her before she could do it.

“Sir, I request that an investigation be conducted on the source of the money in my bank account. I swear they are legitimate sources. I didn’t steal the money. This man is wrongfully accusing me of theft. I’ll cooperate fully with the investigation.”

James‘ throbbing headache eased when he heard what Jane had said. He nodded instantly. “That would help. us immensely, Ms. Fowler.”

As long as they could prove that the money in Jane’s bank account had nothing to do with the Fowler family, Dwayne’s accusation would be proven baseless.

“If the investigation proves that I earned the money through legitimate sources and didn’t steal them, I demand that these two individuals issue an apology to my friend and compensate me for the psychological damages and loss in income…“