I, Julian Manning, am the top salesman at a car dealership, and I never refuse any customer's request.

But today, I turn away a regular customer who comes in for a free maintenance service.

My colleague is stunned. "Are you crazy? He's our biggest client who's about to buy the only 4-million-dollar top spec car in the store!"

I nod and reply, "That's right. He's exactly the one I'm refusing."

When the store manager sees the customer, Marvin Haas, angrily raise his phone to file a complaint, he rushes over to smooth things over.

"Mr. Haas, please calm down. He's new and doesn't know better. Please come inside, I'll personally take care of everything..."

I step to the side and block the entrance. "No. If you let him in, I'll resign right now."

Marvin's face turns red with anger, and he points a trembling finger at. "I'm just here for a free maintenance. Is this really necessary?"

I meet his gaze and say solemnly, word by word, "Yes, it is."

When the customer, Marvin Haas, heard what I said, he completely lost it.

Throwing his car keys onto the ground, he questioned, "What kind of training do you give your sales representatives? I bought the most expensive car you have, and yet this is how you treat me?"

Everyone in the showroom turned to look. A few customers who were in the middle of signing their contracts even put their pens down to come and check out the situation.

"What's going on? Why are they arguing?"

"I heard he bought the top-of-the-line model and came in for free servicing but got stopped at the door."

"Why wouldn't they let him in? What kind of messed-up rule is that?"

Seeing a crowd gathering, Marvin jabbed a finger in my face and yelled, "Everyone, it's this salesperson right here! He's the one who stopped me at the door, even though I had bought a car here and came for my free service!

"I paid four million dollars for that car! Four million dollars!"

The crowd broke into murmurs. "They won't service a four-million-dollar car? They have some nerve."

"I was actually planning to place an order today… Nah, I'm out. Who'd dare buy from them when they treat their customers like this?"

"Let's just go. I don't feel like watching. Let's check out a different dealership."

A couple of customers slammed the price lists in their hands on the desk before walking straight out the door.

The store manager, Anthony Harding, went pale. He shoved me aside and tried to usher Marvin in, coaxing, "Mr. Haas, please calm down. Come inside. I'll personally take care of everything!

"This guy doesn't know any better, so please don't take it personally!"

However, I got right in front of them. "No. He can't come inside."

Marvin, who had just barely calmed down, flew into a rage. "Are you out of your damn mind?"

Shaking off Anthony's hand, he stormed up to me.

"Who do you think you are? Do you even know who I am? Do you know how much I've spent here?"

His hot spit splattered onto my face, but I still refused to budge.

"I know you spent four million dollars here. You got the fully loaded G900 and paid in full. And you picked it up on the 15th of last month."

"Then, why are you blocking my way? I'm here for my free service! Free! It's clearly in the contract in black and white! What right do you have to keep me out? Get the hell out of my way!"

Marvin was beyond reason now. Refusing to waste another word on me, he tried to push his way inside.

I shoved him in the chest, causing him to stumble and almost fall over. The entire place fell into dead silence. Everyone was stunned.

A salesperson just shoved a customer? And not just any customer—a guy who'd just dropped four million dollars on a car?

Anthony's face went as white as a sheet. His lips quivered, but he couldn't say a single word.

After Marvin steadied himself, his eyes filled with shock and fury. "How dare you push me?"

Ignoring him, I pulled out my phone to call the police. "Engine failure. Protocol one."

There was a second of silence on the other end of the line before a stern voice came through, "Copy that. Stay put. Three minutes away."

I hung up right after. Marvin was still ranting angrily into his phone camera while the onlooking crowd continued whispering among themselves.

That was when I noticed that Anthony had stopped talking. His eyes widened, and he stared at me in disbelief.

"What… What did you just say?"

"Engine failure" was the highest-level code phrase in the dealership.

Once those words were spoken, all transactions had to be suspended. Under normal circumstances, it was only used for emergencies on the level of a fire.

Anthony stared at me with an uneasy and shocked expression. "Are you sure?"

I gave a nod. After hesitating for a few seconds, he moved to stand next to me. A second later, police sirens blared from all directions.

Marvin, who had been acting all arrogant just moments ago, suddenly looked shaken. "I just wanted to get my car serviced. Why did you call the police?"

Turning to everyone in the showroom, he spread his arms, shouting, "Everyone here is a witness! I, Marvin Haas, bought a four-million-dollar car from them. That's four million dollars!

"I came to get the free servicing as stipulated in the contract, but this salesperson not only stopped me at the door, but he also pushed me and called the police on me! I'd like to know what law I broke to deserve this!"

The crowd broke into chatter again. "He's right. Why call the police? Is getting our car serviced a crime now?"

"Yeah! This is seriously over the line. Who's going to risk buying from them now?"

"This is blatant bullying of customers by a big company. If even a guy who spent four million dollars gets treated like trash, folks like us, who can only spend a few hundred thousand dollars, wouldn't even get past the entrance."

Marvin continued to make a scene, getting the crowd worked up, but he kept sneaking looks at the police car getting closer.

"Since I've got things to do today, I can't be bothered to deal with you people. But mark my words—this isn't over!"

With that, Marvin turned, looking eager to leave. The more anxious he looked, the more obvious it was that he was hiding something. I snapped my head toward Anthony.

He was frowning too, clearly sensing something was off.

We exchanged a glance, and he gave a slight nod.

I immediately stepped forward to grab Marvin by the wrist. Anthony came around from the side and, without a word, blocked the other side of the glass door. We stood side by side, completely sealing off the exit.

Color drained from Marvin's face instantly. He looked at us, then at the police car getting closer outside, and gulped.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to keep me here? You think you can restrict my freedom? This is false imprisonment!"

He whipped out his phone with trembling hands before he started recording, shoving the camera right in our faces.

"Everyone, do you see this? This dealership is restricting a customer's freedom in broad daylight! Just so you know, I'm posting this online immediately! The whole country will know what kind of dealership this is! I'll make sure you never sell a single car again!"

Dave Patel, my coworker, was the first to crack. He jogged over to me. "Could this be a mistake? Mr. Haas is one of our long-time customers. If you keep this up and he actually posts the video, our reputation will be done for."

My other coworker, Ivan Moran, came over too with a pale face. "Yeah, Julian. I just closed a deal on an S-Class. The customer's ready to pay, and he's watching all of this at the entrance right now. If the deal falls through, my sales performance for the month will be done for…"

When Marvin heard what Ivan and Dave said, his expression shifted from panic to smugness.

"Did you hear that? Looks like your coworkers are smarter than you! I'll say this one last time—get out of my way!

"If you don't, not only will I post the video, but I'll also file a complaint and sue all of you!"

As he spoke, he tried to force his way out. I tightened my grip on his wrist, refusing to budge. Anthony shifted sideways in response, leaving no gap between us.

Marvin was getting frantic and red-eyed. "Damn it! Let go of me! Let me go!"

He abruptly swung his arm hard, his elbow striking me right in the left eye. Pain shot through me in an instant.

My vision went black for a second. Something warm trickled down from my brow.

Everyone in the showroom went silent. With a murderous look in his eyes, Marvin raised his fist once more. "You bastard, you don't know when to quit, do you? You still dare stand in my way?"

Before he could swing again, a shout came from behind me. "What are you doing? Stop!"

As the police officer rushed in, he immediately noticed the blood running down my face. He stepped forward and forcibly separated Marvin and me. "That injury looks serious. Don't move around for the time being."

He turned toward the staff in the showroom. "Is there a first aid kit?"

The receptionist quickly brought gauze and antiseptic wipes.

I pressed the gauze against my brow and was about to speak when Marvin cut in immediately, "Officer, perfect timing! You need to settle this for me!"

He came forward with a look of grievance. "Not only are they violating our sales contract, but they're also refusing to let me leave!

"I only acted in self-defense because I was forced into a corner! They were the ones illegally detaining me first!"

Ignoring Marvin, the officer stared at me. "Were you the one who called us, saying 'engine failure'?"

I nodded without hesitation.

His face grew even more stern. "You do know that making a false police report can land you in jail, right?"

My answer was immediate. "I know. But I'm certain it's him."

"What made you so certain?"

Marvin couldn't contain himself anymore. Breathing heavily, he barked, "What do you mean by it's me? You're just picking a fight with me because you have nothing better to do!"

Paying him no attention, I said in a calm but decisive tone, "His car. He did a good job covering it up, but his car gave him away."

Marvin's face twisted in an instant as he tensed up noticeably. "What about my car? My car is fine!"

I paid him no mind, pointing at the black G900 parked outside the showroom. "It's that one. Check the trunk. Something is leaking out."

Everyone turned to look where I was pointing.

At the entrance, the brand-new black G900 was there. It had a classy, luxurious shine to it. But along the edge of the trunk lid, there was a streak of dark red.

That wasn't oil, water, or ordinary mud.

The officer stared at the streak fixedly as he instinctively moved his hand to his radio.

When Marvin noticed everyone's stare, he swallowed hard. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Even so, he still put on a tough front.

"What are you all looking at? So what if something's leaking? Isn't it normal for a new car to have a bit of oil leakage?"