Beneath The Stars | Tyler, The Creator

Chapter 34: Fraud

Calvin visited me three days after the event, he told me that him and Zoey are trying to investigate the death of our corporate secretary.

His wife saw him laying at the comfort room's floor, blood was obviously scattered around. She didn't know that an intruder got in at their house.

Frank panicked and told me to move in at the mansion, to be more safe and to stay away from the stress.

The rest of gang still have no idea about the pregnancy, almost got caught when Kali and Crystal unexpectedly crashed in before I moved at the mansion.

Yikes.

We're supposed to leave at 2 but Calvin's annoying ass showed up at 4. We made our way through the streets of Malibu, making me crave for fish and chips.

Not long enough Calvin parked the car in front of a suburban house. This might be the guy whom Calvin told me will help us, named:

Atty. Richard Hopkins

"Calvin right?" said the guy whose probably in his 60's

"Yes Sir, this is my sister Callista"

We both shake hands as we went inside the house. It was very clean and warm, like there's nobody living here. Little did I know there's bunch of folders across the room.

At that room, is where we enter and took a seat. It's like an office.

"So, what's supposed to be problem?"

"There is this fixed marriage fiasco at our family and our corporate secretary got killed. Me and Callista want to put an end to this before the–"

"Wait, whom will she be married to?"

"Michael Cheung, son of Mr. Lan Cheung"

Atty. Hopkins' eyes wandered as he was trying to analyze who it was while tapping the table with his fingers.

"Do you have any pictures of him?" He asked.

Calvin quickly took out his phone and gave it to him.

"Oh that guy! He changed his name again?" Atty. Hopkins laughed and sipped at his cup.

Me and Cal confusingly looked at each other.

"What do you mean?"

"Y'all know Frank Abagnale Jr?"

We nodded as he showed us a folder full of papers, there we saw a young guy's mugshot.

"The real name is Ling Wu— he's a fraud and been doing that shit for almost 40 years, plus money laundering. Chinese embassy caught him in his early 20's but unfortunately he escaped. They can't find him cause' he has been jumping from country to country and at the same time changing his name"

I nudged Cal's side, shocked.

"How can you say?" Calvin stuttered.

"Let's just say I worked for him, He took me as his private lawyer when he moved here in US years ago. Got fired when he found out that I work for the FBI"

Okay, now I'm mind blown.

"So Mrs. Cheung and his son Michael are a fraud too?" I asked while he was searching through the folders

"Never heard of those two" He answered and gave us another folder "Is these two are you talking about?"

And with that, both of my eyes widen.

"Their names aren't real too, according to that file Michael's dad was killed by Ling Wu and took them to use for his next plan"

I looked through the pages to see Michael's real identity, his real name was Xander and her mom was Mei Lee.

We were interrupted when a phone rang, Atty. Hopkins excused himself.

"What does Lin Wu wants from us? As far as I know, our business is still fine before I knew Mom and Dad made an agreement with that fraud" I questioned and bit my lip, trying not to get angry.

"Isn't it obvious? he wants money–"

"Sorry for the interruption" Atty. Hopkins came back and took a seat "It was my wife who called"

"Anyway, we've been hearing a lot of news these past decades. Mostly, family with a firm ended up dead, other family members who got survived—their explanation was an agreement or same as yours, fixed marriage"

"One of the family agrees, the head of the family are being presumably killed first then onto to the wife then the children"

Mom and Dad were killed by an air missile by the Iran for they thought it was a cruise missile from their rival.

So the next in line is us.

"If we filed against Ling Wu, Mei and Xander will be filed too?" I asked.

It's not fair for Mei and Xander to be filed, it makes sense for what Xander whispered at me. They're being manipulated by a fraud for years.

"No, because there's no legal record that they're a family. And Xander can't be married because he is already married to woman named, Angela Smith" Atty. Hopkins gave me another folder.

"They got married three years ago and there's no sign of any divorce or annulment papers"

I resisted myself not to smile with joy cause' he's already married to his girlfriend. It means there will be no wedding at all.

Calvin looked at me with a smile on his face before he asked Atty. Hopkins.

"How much is all of this Attorney? This filling case? This immediate arrest–"

"Don't mind it, it's actually my payback for your family"

Both of my eyebrows furrowed and asked him why.

"Me and Nikholas are supposed to take law, back in our teenage years. He signed up the last minute in medicine because of Charlene's beauty"

"Your Dad was one of a hell of flirtatious man and your Mom was the woman of my dreams—but yeah. I sacrificed my feelings for your Dad" He laughed.

There was silence after we heard what Attorney said.

Awkward.

"Wait—so your nickname is Ricky. You're Uncle Ricky, right?" Calvin asked.

"Yup, that's me" They both laughed and started to talk, leaving me completely oblivious.

Frank is right, storms don't last forever.