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Accused Of Taking KickbacksChapter 1 of 3 free

Chapter 1Accused Of Taking Kickbacks

About 4,502 characters (~842 words) — this is Chapter 1, one of 3 free chapters on EditWrx Reads.

After dating Layla Marsh for four years, Clark Marsh, her son, suddenly appeared at my birthday party while pretending to be a waiter. Then, he fainted.

Layla was shocked and ordered some staff to bring him to the lounge.

But with teary eyes and a stubborn look, he pleaded to Layla, “Mom, please let me stay here, or I won’t get my salary. Then, I won’t get any money to buy medicine…”

Layla stared at him in surprise, and she demanded, “I give you an allowance of thirty thousand dollars a month. How could you not buy your medicine and still need to work?”

But Clark opened his mouth in confusion, and all his blood drained from his face. “Thirty thousand dollars? But I only got three hundred dollars…”

Layla’s eyes went wide with shock before she whipped her head toward me. Her expression sank.

I had been enjoying the drama when I heard this, and my mouth twitched.

‘This is bad. He’s here for me,’ I thought.

Who did Clark think I was?

I was a top-tier freeloader who kept clear accounts, with every expense and every sum of money I received clearly listed.

Clark was stepping on a dragon’s tail.

* * *

In the ensuing silence, Layla Marsh said, “That’s impossible. I ask Rowan to send the money to you every month.”

But Clark Marsh stared at her and clenched his fists. He said with a quivering voice, “But Mom, I’m not lying. Over the past year, I only received three hundred dollars every month…”

I gave a stiff, awkward smile. Just as I was about to say that there had been some kind of misunderstanding, Clark gritted his teeth and said, “Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that it was his birthday today and didn’t come here to cause trouble.

“I just needed two hundred dollars to buy gastric medicine…”

He looked so meek that it caused the people to have complicated expressions on their faces. They exchanged looks.

Naturally, I knew what they were thinking about.

It was my birthday. In order to make me happy, Layla had made sure to throw an extraordinarily lavish party. The cake alone cost six figures.

There was also the birthday gift for me. It was a limited-edition racecar that cost tens of millions. It was parked right outside.

Yet at the same time, her own son was serving as a waiter to earn two hundred dollars, and he almost fainted.

What exactly was going on?

Layla stared at Clark’s bloodless face. A moment later, she trained her eyes at me, and I could not decipher what she was feeling. “Rowan, I transferred the money to you. Tell me what’s going on.”

As everyone stared at me, I calmly put down the knife I used to cut the cake and removed one of my cufflinks. Then, I laughed. “See this, Clark? This alone costs three hundred thousand dollars.

“I’d be very lame if I pocketed your thirty-thousand-dollar monthly allowance, don’t you think?”

In an instant, the guests started whispering, and there were some chuckles too.

“True. He doesn’t need to do that. Everyone knows that Miss Marsh dotes on Rowan. She gives him everything that is good in the world.”

“Exactly. That bit of money really is nothing to him.”

Layla’s scowl eased, but Clark clenched his fists, and his face turned red. A humiliated look flashed in his eyes.

They were right. Everyone present knew how much Layla doted on me over the four years I dated her.

Not only was I the only plus-one she ever brought to public events, it was also common for her to splurge during auctions for me.

Last month alone, she gave me a cruise ship in my name.

Me? Pocketing Clark’s thirty thousand dollars? Sorry, but there was no need for me to do that.

Of course, the only reason why I was so loved was because I knew my place well.

I was a professional freeloader.

I did not ask for love and only focused on improving my skills in giving my sugar mommy emotional support as well as making sure she was comfortable in all areas.

That was why I asked nothing else about her life over the years. The only thing I knew was that she had a son with her ex, and that she had been divorced for years.

One year ago, when Layla suddenly asked me to be in charge of giving Clark his living expenses, I had refused.

But she looked at me gently and smiled. “I won’t have to worry if you do it. Besides, if you don’t dare to do even this, how can you be my husband in the future?”

I had to admit that the temptation was too great, and I had taken the bait.

There we have it. The consequences of my actions had arrived, and I was in trouble.

While I was feeling frustrated, Clark hissed at me with great hostility, “I never said you wanted the money. You just want to kill me.”