Chapter 162 Scammed Them

Chapter 162 Scammed Them
JAMES’ POV

The cold metal of the police van door slammed shut behind me with a loud clang that echoed in my ears long after the sound faded. That single noise felt like the final confirmation that everything had gone wrong. My wrists were still sore from the handcuffs, the metal biting into my skin as the officers escorted me through the station like I was some kind of dangerous criminal.

Which, I guess, I was.

“Move,” one of the officers said again, pushing me forward when I slowed down.

I clenched my jaw but said nothing. At this point, there was no pride left for me to hold on to. Everything had already been stripped away.

The hallway smelled like stale air and something damp, something unpleasant that clung to the walls and made my chest feel tight. I could hear distant voices, a phone ringing somewhere, and the faint rattling of metal bars.

Then we stopped.

One of the officers unlocked a gate and pushed it open before shoving me inside.

“Stay there,” he muttered.

The door slammed again.

This time the sound echoed even louder.

I stumbled slightly before regaining my balance, my eyes scanning the small police cell they had just thrown me into. The space was cramped and dimly lit, with a narrow bench attached to the wall. The floor looked rough and cold, and the entire place carried a heavy silence that pressed down on my shoulders.

For the first time since they arrested me, I slowly sat down.

And reality finally hit me.

How the hell did my life end up like this?

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees while my cuffed hands hung loosely between them. My head felt heavy, my thoughts even heavier.

I had always imagined myself becoming powerful, successful, respected. That was the life I wanted. That was the life I chased.

But now I was sitting inside a police cell.

Waiting to go to court.

Waiting to face the consequences of everything I had done.

My chest tightened as my mind drifted back to where it all began.

Anna.

Greenleaf Med.

That was the start of everything.

Back then, I had been desperate. Desperate for recognition, desperate for money, desperate for power. Watching others succeed while I remained average had always burned inside me like a slow fire.

And then I saw an opportunity.

Anna had worked so hard on that drug for Greenleaf Med.

At the time, I told myself it was just business.

Everyone cheats a little to get ahead.

That’s what I believed.

And when the plan worked, when people started praising me, when money started coming in, I felt unstoppable.

That was the moment everything changed.

After that, fraud no longer felt like a crime to me.

It just felt like work.

Normal work.

I convinced myself that if people were stupid enough to trust me, then that was their problem, not mine. That mindset made it easier to continue, easier to lie, easier to take more and more without feeling guilty about it.

And for years, I got away with it.

That was the dangerous part.

Getting away with something for so long makes you believe you’re untouchable.

I never thought the police would eventually catch me.

Not once.

If I had known this was where my life would end up… sitting inside a dirty cell with nothing left to my name… maybe I would have stopped earlier.

Maybe I would have been content.

Maybe I would have quit fraud entirely.

But greed doesn’t work like that.

Once you start chasing money and power, it becomes addictive.

And by the time you realize how deep you’ve gone, it’s already too late.

I let out a slow breath, staring at the floor.

Everything I built was collapsing.

And there was nothing I could do about it.

Time passed slowly in that cell. I didn’t even know how long I had been sitting there before I heard footsteps approaching.

At first, I didn’t bother looking up.

But then a familiar voice spoke.

“I need to see him.”

My head lifted immediately.

Melissa.

I looked toward the bars, and sure enough, she was standing there, talking to one of the officers. Her expression was tight, her arms crossed as she waited impatiently.

For a moment, I just stared at her.

Honestly… I was surprised she even came.

After everything I had done to her.

After all the lies, all the problems, all the trouble I had dragged into her life… I expected her to walk away from me the moment I got arrested.

But here she was.

The officer eventually unlocked the gate and allowed her to step closer.

When our eyes met, I could immediately see the anger in hers.

Not just anger.

Disappointment.

Frustration.

And something else… something that looked like disbelief.

“James,” she said, her voice sharp.

I slowly stood up from the bench.

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. The silence between us felt heavy, like it was carrying all the tension in the room.

Then Melissa finally broke it.

“I want the full story,” she said.

Her tone made it clear she wasn’t asking.

She was demanding.

I sighed quietly, running a hand through my hair before speaking.

“There’s not much to hide anymore,” I muttered.

“Then start talking,” she snapped.

I hesitated for a second before explaining.

“I talked to several companies,” I began slowly. “I told them that my company specialized in forex trading.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

I continued anyway.

“I promised them huge returns. Massive ROI. I made it sound convincing, showed them fake projections, fake strategies… everything they wanted to hear.”

Melissa’s face darkened as she listened.

“And when they dropped their funds,” I added quietly, “I stopped responding.”

The silence that followed was intense.

I could literally feel her anger building.

“You scammed them,” she said.

I didn’t respond.

Because there was no point denying it.

“Yes,” I finally admitted.

Melissa let out a frustrated breath, running her hand across her forehead like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“James… do you even understand what you’ve done?” she said, her voice rising. “You’ve destroyed everything!”

Her words hit harder than I expected.

“You didn’t just ruin your life,” she continued angrily. “You ruined mine too!”

I looked away.

Because deep down, I knew she was right.

Everything connected to me was now under investigation.

Our home.

Our properties.

Our lifestyle.

All of it.

Gone.

“And for what?” she asked. “Money?”

I didn’t answer immediately.

But the truth was obvious.

“Yes,” I said quietly.

Melissa laughed bitterly, shaking her head.

“This is unbelievable.”

She looked like she wanted to say more, but instead she just stared at me for a moment, like she was trying to understand how the man she knew ended up like this.

Then she spoke again.

“What happens now?”

I swallowed.

“The officers said I should get my lawyer ready,” I replied. “I’m going to court two days from now.”

Saying those words out loud made my chest tighten again.

Court.

Trial.

Judgment.

Everything was about to become very real.

Melissa’s expression hardened when she heard that.

For a moment, she said nothing.

Then she shook her head slowly.

“You’ve really done it this time, James.”