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?"

No one said a word in response.

The officer just stood there, staring at the stain. His expression grew more serious by the second. "Open the trunk. I need to inspect it."

Upon hearing that, Marvin snapped, "On what grounds? What right do you have to search my car?"

He took two steps back, placing himself in front of his car. "This is my car! No one is allowed to check it, not even the police!"

Although he tried to sound tough, his eyes were wide, and his lips were dry. Those are signs of extreme guilt.

Staring at him, I firmly said, "Open the trunk."

"You think you can order me around? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Clenching his key tightly in his fist, he turned to the police officer. "I'm starting to think that this dealership is trying to extort me! Are you all in on this together?"

The officer's expression darkened. "Watch what you say."

By now, the showroom was packed wall-to-wall with onlookers, all filming on their phones.

Even though blood was running down my brow, I still hadn't let go of his wrist.

Anthony stood right next to me. "Mr. Haas, open the trunk. If you've got nothing to hide, then this will be all over once everyone has a look.

"But if you refuse, then I have to assume there is something you don't want seen."

Under the pressure of the crowd, Marvin slowly turned pale.

The officer frowned. "Sir, if you cooperate, and there's nothing wrong, this will be resolved quickly. Your refusal will only raise suspicion."

Marvin's hands started shaking. After a long pause, he loosened his grip. The key fell to the ground with a sharp clink.

He glared at me, his eyes growing cold and threatening. "Fine. Take a look, then. But you're going to regret this."

I picked up the key before heading over to the rear of the car.

I took a deep breath. The entire place went silent as I inserted the key. But inside the trunk was empty.

There were no red stains or suspicious packages, only a spotless black carpet.

The crowd went eerily quiet. Marvin broke into a nasty grin. "See? There's nothing. My car is spotless!"

He strode up to the police officer, pointing at me. "This guy's making false accusations! He hit me, pushed me, and restricted my freedom! I'm pressing charges!"

The officer turned to me. The suspicion in his eyes had turned into disappointment. "And where is the thing you claimed?"

Anthony walked over to look inside as well, and his face fell.

Dave finally broke the silence. "See? I knew it. There's no way Mr. Haas is that kind of person. Great! Now our reputation is ruined!"

Ivan approached us. "My S-Class deal just fell through. The customer walked away."

While the crowd began to disperse, Marvin straightened his collar. "Officer, I want him charged. Also, I'm going to sue this dealership!"

The officer sighed. "You'll need to come with us to give a statement."

I stood there, my eyes locked on the G900. No, something didn't add up.

For dark liquid to be leaking out from the gap of the trunk meant it couldn't have been this clean on the inside.

I walked slowly around the car and then suddenly stopped. A thought broke through my mental fog in an instant. "That's it!"