Tiffany’s jaw dropped. She remembered when Kenneth’s computer had been hacked—he’d lost a ton of important data and was furious for days. She’d secretly celebrated his misfortune, but never in a million years did she imagine her own little brother was behind it.

“Wow…” she stammered, staring at Eric in awe. This kid had a hidden talent.

After a moment, she asked, “When did you learn all this? Who taught you?”

Eric blinked innocently. “Is it supposed to be hard?”

Tiffany couldn’t help but smile. Her brother was a genius. Filled with pride, she pulled Eric into a tight hug and kissed his cheek. “Well then, looks like I’ve got my own personal hacker for any of my future schemes,” she said with a playful grin.

Typically, an older sister might lecture her younger brother about the dangers of hacking, but Tiffany was anything but typical. Eric, ever the devoted brother, nodded seriously. “You got it, sis. I’m ready to help!”

“You know,” Tiffany mused, tapping her chin, “I heard Kenneth’s been working on some big study guides and practice tests for next week’s exams…”

Their eyes met, and a silent understanding passed between them. Their shared wicked grins said it all—they didn’t even need to discuss it. They would hack Kenneth’s computer.

Just then, Charlie returned from work, completing the family gathering. As they all sat down for dinner, Tiffany’s gaze drifted to the other side of the table. Selena and Sandra wore their usual polite smiles, sitting primly. Stan, however, looked like he was sitting on pins and needles, his eyes darting around the room, appearing utterly drained.

Tiffany couldn’t resist poking fun at him. “Stan, you don’t look so great,” she remarked with a hint of amusement.

Stan’s laugh was stiff. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just a little cold, I guess.”

Tiffany nodded, her spirits lifted. The evening’s main event was about to unfold, and she relished the thought of the first big present she had in store for the Olsons.

After dinner, Charlie joined them at the table, shrugging off his suit jacket with a satisfied grin. He immediately began praising Stan. “Stan, you’ve really outdone yourself with this deal. Running around to secure those extra points of profit was no small feat. I’m proud of you! Take a couple of days off to rest.”

Before Stan could respond, Selena and Sandra’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean the contract is secured?” they asked eagerly.

“Yes,” Charlie replied, clearly in high spirits. “The shipment arrived today, and we should start the project next week.”

Yet, despite the praise, Stan remained silent, drawing puzzled looks from everyone.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Charlie asked.

“No, no…” Stan forced a smile, wiping sweat from his brow. “It’s just that my stomach’s been off from too much drinking lately.”

“Make sure to rest, and if it gets worse, see a doctor,” Charlie advised.

“Will do,” Stan replied, his voice lacking conviction.

The dinner continued pleasantly enough. At one point, Selena used the excuse of getting more soup to pull Stan aside, her excitement barely contained. “You sly dog, you didn’t even tell me you closed the deal! What about the money? Make sure to move it to another account before anyone notices!”

The mere mention of the money made Stan’s vision blur with frustration. There was no money left. That fateful night, when he claimed to be out on business, everything had slipped through his fingers after a reckless escapade. The $1.2 million had vanished. Because of how he obtained it, he couldn’t even report it stolen without raising suspicions.

For days, Stan had been on edge. Selena’s question only added fuel to the fire. “Money, money, money! That’s all you care about!” he snapped. “Just shut up!”

Selena was taken aback. The man who usually sweet-talked her had suddenly turned hostile, leaving her stunned and seething. She bit her tongue.

After dinner, as the family prepared to leave, Charlie received a phone call. The news on the other end made his face turn ghostly pale. “What? Are you serious?”

Charlie was a seasoned businessman. For something to rattle him this much sent a chill through the room. Thalia noticed his reaction and asked, “Honey? What’s wrong? Has something happened at the company?”

Charlie’s sharp gaze locked onto Stan. “The project manager just called. The materials you ordered? They’re not just subpar—they’re dangerously defective. Care to explain yourself?”

The weight of Charlie’s words hung in the air. In their line of work, cutting corners was not only unethical, but potentially catastrophic. The damage to the Kelley Corporation’s reputation would have been irreversible.

Under Charlie’s glare, Stan seemed to shrink. Panic clawed at his throat as he stammered, “There… there must be some mistake! I followed the procedures exactly, I swear!”

The sudden turn of events left Selena and Sandra stunned. In that fleeting moment, they both found the answer they were looking for in each other’s eyes. This had been their plan all along—to skim a fortune, hiding behind a legitimate business deal. The Kelley Corporation could crash and burn; they only cared about their own pockets. Now, as they watched the chaos unfold, they realized everything was going exactly as planned.

I removed the extraneous website promotion. I also made several minor grammatical corrections, improved sentence flow, and standardized punctuation and capitalization. I also converted the numerical amount to a standard format.