Chapter 309: Fraud [1] "It’s my dad," Ethan began, his voice tight with a mixture of anger, fear, and humiliation. "He got involved in an insurance scam, and now we’re in serious trouble. They’re demanding money, and if we don’t pay..." A frown formed on Noah’s face. Smith, Ethan’s father, was a smart corporate man who had built a successful career through decades of careful decision-making and good business instincts. He wasn’t someone who easily fell for scams or made impulsive financial decisions—which meant whatever had happened must have been extraordinarily sophisticated and convincing. The fact that someone as experienced and cautious as Smith had been caught in a scam immediately raised red flags about the complexity of the operation. These weren’t amateur con artists targeting random victims; they were dealing with organised criminals who specialised in targeting successful professionals. "How much are we talking about?" Noah asked, though the specific amount mattered less than ensuring his family’s safety and security. His transformed financial situation meant he could handle almost any demand, but understanding the scope would help him assess the seriousness of the threat. "One hundred thousand dollars," Ethan replied, the number carrying the weight of desperation in his voice. Noah’s expression remained calm despite the substantial sum. Before acquiring the system, one hundred thousand dollars would have represented an impossible burden that could have destroyed their family’s financial stability. Now, with daily revenues exceeding two million dollars, the amount was manageable even if it remained significant in the grand scheme of things. "Tell me exactly what happened," Noah said, settling into focused listening mode. "Start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out. I need to understand how they got to him." Ethan took a shaky breath before beginning his explanation. "It started about three weeks ago with what seemed like a completely normal car accident. Dad was driving home from work during rush hour when he rear-ended someone while he was driving on the divided highway." The setup already sounded professionally orchestrated to Noah’s mind. Rear-end collisions were among the most common types of insurance fraud because they were easy to stage and difficult to prove as intentional. "But here’s where it gets complicated," Ethan continued, his voice growing more strained. "The scammers had taken advantage of the high-speed highway conditions to ensure that Dad didn’t have enough time to brake safely. Despite having left what he thought was a safe following distance, this car suddenly merged into his lane at the last second and then immediately brake-checked him." Noah’s frown deepened as he recognised the sophisticated nature of the operation. Brake-checking on highways was an extremely dangerous but effective fraud technique. The perpetrators would deliberately cause rear-end collisions by cutting off victims and then slamming on their brakes, leaving the following driver with no time to react safely. "The merge was so sudden and aggressive that Dad had maybe a second to respond," Ethan explained, his anger evident in his voice. "Anyone would have hit them under those circumstances. It was like they calculated the exact timing to make avoiding the collision impossible." The precision required for such an operation suggested extensive planning and experience. The criminals would have studied traffic patterns, identified optimal locations for the scam, and practised the manoeuvre until they could execute it flawlessly while minimising their own risk of serious injury. "The person who came out was a middle-aged woman who apologised repeatedly for the accident," Ethan continued. "She kept saying things like ’I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there’ and ’I should have checked my blind spot better.’ Dad said she seemed genuinely distressed about causing the collision." The apologetic behaviour was a calculated psychological manipulation designed to prevent Smith from questioning the circumstances of the accident. By immediately accepting blame and appearing remorseful, the woman had encouraged Smith to view her as a fellow victim of an unfortunate mistake rather than a criminal orchestrating a deliberate collision. "Unfortunately, my father believed her words completely," Ethan said with obvious frustration. "She was so convincing in her remorse that Dad actually felt bad for her. They exchanged insurance information, took photos of the damage, and filed the claim. Dad even offered to help her deal with her insurance company if there were any complications." Noah could understand how Smith had been deceived. The woman’s performance had been designed by professionals who understood human psychology and knew exactly how to exploit natural empathy and trust. Most honest people would react exactly as Smith had in similar circumstances. "Everything seemed straightforward for the first week," Ethan explained. "The insurance companies were processing the claim normally, and the damage estimates came back reasonable. Dad’s car needed about three thousand dollars in repairs, and hers was similar. Nothing suggested anything was wrong." The initial period of normalcy was crucial for establishing credibility and preventing early suspicion. By allowing the claim to proceed normally at first, the criminals created a paper trail that would support their later escalations while ensuring that Smith remained unsuspecting. "But then Dad found out the real scope of what they had done to him," Ethan’s voice turned bitter. "Multiple witnesses had come forward to provide statements about the accident, and every single one of them went against him! According to their testimonies, Dad was the one completely at fault for the collision." "They had planted witnesses at the scene?" "Exactly, at least four different people provided detailed statements saying that Dad was driving aggressively, following too closely, and that he rear-ended this poor, innocent woman who was driving safely. They described him as road-raging and speeding, completely contradicting what actually happened." The coordinated witness testimony represented a level of organisation that went far beyond simple opportunistic fraud. The criminals had positioned multiple accomplices at the scene to provide corroborating false testimony that would overwhelm any defence Smith might attempt. "The witnesses all had slightly different perspectives on the accident, which made their stories seem more credible," Ethan explained. "One claimed to be in the next lane, another said they were behind Dad’s car, and a third was supposedly approaching from the opposite direction. Their accounts were detailed enough to seem legitimate and consistent enough to support each other."