Page 75 of Charlie
“Why did ye change your name to O’Brien?”
“I had moved to Ireland and was fascinated with the history of the O’Briens. It’s a strong name that holds power, and it fit me well.”
“Ye weren’t trying to hide yer troubled past?” The officer looked down at his pad. “Besides the restrainin’ orders, ye have a history of fraud and blackmail.”
That piece of information made my tics act up and it didn’t escape me how the officer by the door stared at me.
“Look, I’ve never asked for anything from my members. They only contribute what they want to. The rule is that they give to the Red Manor Foundation according to the value they feel they’re getting from working with me. The charges you are referring to were made by a father to one of my members who couldn’t understand that his daughter would have been generous enough to donate a large sum. He was sure she was a victim of fraud and blackmail.”
The officer frowned. “These weren’t just charges, Mr. O’Brien. Ye were found guilty of fraud and blackmail.”
Conor rolled his eyes and sighed out loud. “Yes. I’m still disappointed when I think about how the girl didn’t take responsibility for gifting my foundation the sum. I suppose it’s a bit like when a woman is confronted with having had sex and she doesn’t want to admit that it was voluntary so she screams rape to look like the victim.”
“Ye seem to have a long history of people blamin’ ye for things ye claim you didn’t do.” There was an undertone of skepticism in the officer’s voice.
“As I said, I’ve gotten better at vetting the people I let into my life now.”
“We’ve been receivin’ alarmin’ calls from family and friends of members in yer group. There are concerns that ye’re brainwashin’ and exploitin’ people. What do ye have to say to that?”
Conor gave a bored smile. “Those aren’t new accusations. Many of the people living here come from families with high expectations and when they rebel against the chosen path for them, I’m accused of brainwashing them, but I’m really just helping them see that they have a choice.” He looked to me. “Charles here is a brilliant lawyer and dreams of serving justice to victims of international crime syndicates. But he’s also the sole heir to one of biggest business empires in the US, so you can imagine the pushback he received from his family when he said he didn’t want to take over the family business.”
Both officers studied me.
“What is yer last name?” the one with the pad asked.
“Robertson.”
His eyes lit up with recognition before he turned back to Conor. I figured it was because he knew of Solver Industries.
“If O’Hara and I walked around and asked everyone who lived here if they were here by their own free choice, what do ye reckon that they’d say?”
Conor swung his hand to me. “Charles, why don’t you answer that question?”
I squared my shoulders and tried to calm my tics. “They’d say that they are all honored to be here. It’s a privilege.”
Conor smiled at me with satisfaction while officer Williams scratched his gray beard. “Is it?”
“Yes.” I gave a firm nod. “There’s no one better than Conor to help you find your true potential and unleash it. He pushes us to be the best version that we can possibly be. What he offers is a complete package of coaching, friendship, and family in one, and he’s right when he says that he never asks for anything in return except the same amount of loyalty that he’s showing us.”
“All right.” Williams crossed his legs by his ankles and tapped his paper pad with the pencil. “Does that mean ye haven’t paid anything to be in this so-called program?”
“No. I’ve made contributions to the foundation, but that was all voluntarily.”
“Huh. Could ye give us an estimate of how much ye’ve paid?”
I hesitated. “About four hundred thousand.”
His eyebrow shot up. “Euros?”
“Yes.”
“How long have ye been living here?”
“I moved in about three months ago.”
O’Hara whistled and crossed his arms. “It would take me a decade to raise that kind of money.”
I looked away, aware that for a normal worker, four hundred thousand euros sounded like a lot of money, but for me it was a write-off as charity on my tax return.
