Alex had lost his money in a bet with a local gang and had no money left. He was too afraid to tell his mom about what happened. So, he stole the family heirloom and was now trying to sell it for money.
"I could offer you 50,000 World coins for this."
"What! That's way too little," Alex said, surprised.
"Sorry, but I can't give you any more than that," the shopkeeper responded.
Alex had no choice. He needed money to place a bet on tomorrow's car race.
"Fine," he replied with a sense of disappointment.
"I thought this stupid thing was valuable. At least I can get some money out of it. It is better than nothing," Alex thought.
He felt a bit happier leaving the shop with the money he received.
---------
-After few minutes-
Kevin had finally reached his apartment after walking for a while. As he approached, he noticed Mrs Johnson looking at him angrily.
"Kevin, you haven't paid rent for two months. When are you going to pay? You're always late with rent," she shouted, drawing a little crowd.
Kevin was really surprised. He had already paid his rent. He had paid this month's rent a week ago, and now she was saying he hadn't paid.
Everyone in the neighbourhood thought Mrs Johnson was a kind person. She always acted nicely toward others, so naturally people believed her.
Kevin knew that no one would believe him if he argued with her. He looked around and saw someone and a smile appeared on his face.
"What do you mean, Mrs. Johnson? I already paid," Kevin said innocently.
"When did you pay me? I haven't received any money from you," she said angrily.
"I didn't pay in cash. Your son approached me and asked me to pay the rent immediately. I pleaded with him, saying I'd give the rent once I got my salary. He didn't agree, so I had no option but to give him my laptop. He said I wouldn't need to pay for the next two months," he explained, lowering his head slightly as if he were sad.
"Good thing I left my laptop at Mr. Harry's place," Kevin thought.
"You didn't pay the rent, and now you're making up random excuses?" she said.
"Why don't you just ask your son if he took the laptop?" Kevin asked.
Just then, Alex came, looking happy as he counted his money. His face turned serious when he saw a group of people outside his house.
"Mom, what's going on?" he asked.
"Did you take Kevin's laptop?" she questioned.
"No," he answered, looking puzzled.
"You're not telling the truth, Kevin," she shouted again.
"Then where did the 50,000 world coins come from, Alex?" Kevin inquired.
Alex was surprised by these words and hid the money behind his back. Kevin and Alex knew Mrs Johnson would be angry if she learned how Alex got the money.
"It was the money I gave him yesterday, of course," Mrs. Johnson replied.
Suddenly, Alex spotted someone in the crowd. It was Leo's right-hand man from the local gang.
Alex panicked. According to their deal, he had to give all his money to Leo. He had already given away all his money this morning. If Leo suspected that he didn't give all his savings, he might kill him.
"No, it wasn't the money you gave, Mom," Alex yelled.
"Alex, you took my laptop because I hadn't paid the rent for two months. You even said I didn't have to pay for the next two months," Kevin stated.
"You just came from Edward's store. I saw you there. We can go ask him if you sold something twenty minutes ago," someone from the crowd suggested.
Alex panicked. They'd find out about his theft if they went to Edward's store. If not, Leo will kill him. His best option was to admit to taking Kevin's laptop. He knew Kevin had paid for two months, so his mom wouldn't be too angry.
Kevin saw Alex's reaction and knew he had fallen into the trap. Alex wasn't that clever to begin with. He could've come up with something about his friends giving him the money, but Alex doesn't think well under pressure.
"Yeah, I remember. I took Alex's laptop and sold it. He hadn't paid the rent, so I thought it was fine. That's what happened," Alex said, forcing an awkward laugh.
The crowd was surprised.
Mrs Johnson was upset with her son for not telling her the truth. But she smiled a bit. At least she got some extra money from Kevin.
" Finally, my son is learning from me. "She thought. She was pleased that his son was learning her art of stealing more money from others.