Two weeks passed. No employees greeted Dean when he arrived at the office early anymore, because he never responded. His face looked like he hadn't slept for days, with dark, puffy circles under his eyes.
He slowly walked into his office, but inside, there was already a middle-aged man with a police officer and another man in a suit sitting next to the officer.
When Dean saw the middle-aged man's face, he immediately rubbed his own face to look fresh. This man was Mr. Thomas, a representative from the board of shareholders and the owner of the company.
"Good morning, Mr. Thomas. What can I do for you?" Dean asked politely.
"What's all this, Dean?" Mr. Thomas yelled, handing him a crumpled piece of paper.
Dean's eyes widened when he read the worn paper. It was the debt bill in his name that he had given Silvia to handle with the police.
"How did this debt letter end up with you, sir?" Dean asked, confused.
"Sit down!" Mr. Thomas barked.
Dean immediately sat down at the desk, flanked by the police officer and the man in the suit. Mr. Thomas sat in Dean's chair, leaning forward with his elbows on the desk, his eyes staring sharply at Dean.
"First, I want to know, why are you in so much debt?" Mr. Thomas asked.
"I don't understand it myself, sir. That's why I asked the police to investigate, because that loan company is illegal," Dean replied.
"Excuse me, Mr. Dean, but we never received any complaint from you," the police officer next to him said.
"Oh, really, sir? I asked my secretary to handle it," Dean said.
"I already asked Silvia. She said you didn't tell her to report it. You only told her to find out if the company was illegal or not," Mr. Thomas stated.
"What? I did ask her to report it, sir, really! Just call Silvia in here!" Dean insisted.
Mr. Thomas pressed his intercom and asked Silvia to come into the room. A short while later, Silvia entered carrying a red folder.
"Silvia, is it true he asked you to report his debts to the police?" Mr. Thomas asked directly.
"Um... no, sir. I was asked to keep the papers and find out if the company was illegal or not," Silvia answered clearly.
"What?! I asked you to file a report, Silvia, how could you forget?" Dean said, turning to look at Silvia.
"When was that, sir? I've kept all the documents here," Silvia said, opening her folder and showing the debt letters Dean had given her over time.
"Silvia, I told you verbally and by email! Didn't you read my emails?" Dean asked in a loud, scolding tone.
"I didn't get any emails, sir, really," Silvia said, starting to get scared.
"Hey, why are you yelling at Silvia? She's just saying what she knows. You can go, Silvia," Mr. Thomas said.
"O-okay, sir. Excuse me," Silvia said, turning and leaving immediately.
The atmosphere became tense. No one spoke. Mr. Thomas kept staring at Dean, then said,
"Sigh... I know you're having money problems, but why did you embezzle company money? Just talk to me, I might be able to help you," Mr. Thomas said.
"Wait, sir, I did what?" Dean asked, shocked.
"Why are you pretending not to know? This is your signature, isn't it?" Mr. Thomas asked, handing Dean an expense reimbursement form.
After reading it, Dean started sweating heavily, because he distinctly remembered signing that paper.
"But Alex had checked everything back then, he gave me this paper to sign," Dean said.
"Ugh... please explain. I'm tired of explaining," Mr. Thomas said, looking at the man in the suit next to Dean.
"Okay, Mr. Thomas. Excuse me, Mr. Dean, let me introduce myself first. My name is Robert Harris, and I'm the lawyer handling this case. Before I explain, you should read this first," Robert introduced himself, then opened his bag and took out a blue folder, handing it to Dean.
Dean opened it. Inside was a letter about his debt being paid off, and the date was exactly two days after he signed the paper on the desk.
"What does this mean? So you're saying I took company money to pay off my debt, is that it?" Dean asked.
"So you already know about the case, then. All the evidence points to you: your debt letter, signing a large reimbursement form, and taking leave at the same time this letter was issued. I want to help you during the trial if you confess now, in front of me," Robert replied.
"What?! I didn't do it, this is slander! At that time, I was on leave, I went to my wife's parents' house to pick up my wife because I was having problems with her!" Dean shouted.
"I've already confirmed with your wife that you didn't come that day. She was at home with your daughter then," Robert said.
"Lies! I met her brother Mark! He said my wife and daughter were at the villa with my in-laws! Ask him!" Dean yelled.
"Alright, here's a recording of my conversation with him when I went to his house yesterday," Robert placed his smartphone on the desk. A conversation between Robert and Mark at Mark's house could be heard. Mark said that no one had come to his house, and he knew because he was waiting for Dean to beat him up for making his sister cry. Mark expressed his frustration in the recording. After that, Laura's voice was heard, saying that Dean never came or contacted her after she left home and went back to her parents' house.
"What is this?!" Dean swept his hand across the desk, and Robert's smartphone flew toward the window. The police officer next to Dean immediately grabbed and restrained Dean's hands.
"Let go! I'm not guilty!" Dean yelled.
"That's enough, Dean. It's better if you confess so your sentence won't be too harsh in court later," Mr. Thomas said.
"I'm not guilty! I'm clean! I never embezzled money! I swear it!" Dean shouted.
"Okay, sir, take him," Mr. Thomas told the police.
"Come on, Mr. Dean. You can make all your statements at the station," the police officer said, standing up and taking hold of Dean.
After that, Dean, with his hands cuffed, was led out of his office, followed by Robert. When they opened the door, Dean saw almost all the employees standing in front of his office to see what was happening. The police asked them to disperse and make way. Many looks of disbelief were directed at Dean being arrested, but whispers about him were also heard.
As he passed Silvia's desk, Dean turned. He saw Silvia standing with her head down, looking guilty, but she was being hugged by Alex, who had a sneering smile. Alex waved and smiled at Dean, who glared back, then Alex squeezed Silvia's chest, making her squirm with pleasure.
"Alex!" Dean lunged at Alex but was immediately pulled back by the police officer. Alex looked surprised but kept smiling while holding Silvia.
"Bye bye, your position is mine!" Alex said, waving his hand.
The police officer pushed Dean forward, but Dean kept turning back, glaring at Alex. After a humiliating walk through the office like a public spectacle, Dean finally arrived at the police station and was immediately interrogated.
Dean kept insisting he was innocent, and his words became more erratic due to his high emotions. Finally, Dean was put into a cell and told to calm down. Dean yelled and held onto the bars non-stop until he couldn't speak anymore and sat huddled in the corner of the cell.