My Brother Stole What He Thought Was A $20 Necklace For His Girlfriend. It Was Actually A $2.2 Million Company Asset. Now I’ve Had Him Arrested, Am I The Jerk?
“I don’t know.”
“Pay you back? With what money? You work in pharmaceutical sales and you just spent $300 on dinner to impress a girl.”
“I’ll get a loan!”
“A $2 million loan? Tyler, you don’t understand the scale of what you’ve done.”
“Then tell me what to do.”
I thought about the years of family dinners where Tyler had dominated conversations with stories about his work while barely acknowledging mine. I thought about the times he’d borrowed money for various emergencies without ever wondering how I could afford to lend it.
I was struck by his complete lack of curiosity about my life.
“I want you to work for me.”
“What?”
“Six months, entry level. You’ll learn every aspect of the jewelry business from the ground up. You’ll understand what goes into creating pieces like the one you stole.”
“Victoria, I don’t know anything about jewelry.”
“You’ll learn. And Tyler, you’ll be paid minimum wage.”
His eyes widened.
“Minimum wage?”
“You took a $2 million necklace because you assumed it was worthless. You need to understand the value of things, including work. But my job at Pfizer…”
“Will have to wait. This is the deal, Tyler: six months working for me, learning to respect what I do, or three years in prison for grand theft.”
Tyler was quiet for a long moment.
“What about Emma?”
“What about her?”
“She’s going to be so embarrassed. Everyone at the restaurant saw me get arrested.”
“Tyler, your girlfriend watched you steal jewelry from your sister to impress her. If she’s embarrassed, maybe she should re-evaluate her priorities.”
“She didn’t know I was stealing it.”
“She knew you were taking things from my apartment without asking. She’s kept my scarves and purse for months.”
Tyler looked genuinely surprised.
“She kept your stuff?”
“You didn’t know?”
“I… I thought you’d given those to her.”
“When? When did I give Emma permission to keep my belongings?”
The realization was dawning on Tyler’s face.
“She said you told her she could have them.”
“I never told her any such thing.”
“So she’s been stealing from you too?”
“Apparently.”
Tyler put his head back in his hands.
“God, Victoria, what kind of people have we become?”
“I don’t know, Tyler. You tell me.”
Detective Martinez returned with paperwork.
“Miss Sterling, have you decided about the charges?”
I looked at my brother one more time.
“I want to drop the felony charges on the condition that my brother enters into a restitution program.”
“What kind of restitution?”
“Six months of community service working for my company to understand the value of what he took.”
“That’s unusual, but if both parties agree… Tyler, do you agree to these terms?”
“Yes! Absolutely, yes.”
“And you’ll return Emma’s borrowed items to me tonight, as soon as I get out of here.”
Detective Martinez started preparing the paperwork.
“Mr. Sterling, you’re lucky to have a sister who’s willing to work with you on this.”
“I know.”
A New Perspective
Two hours later, we left the police station together. Tyler had been officially released into my custody, and the necklace was safely returned to Sterling Luxury Secure Storage.
“Victoria,” Tyler said as we walked to my car, “I need to ask you something. What are you really worth? Millions of dollars?”
I pulled up my phone and showed him the most recent Forbes article about Sterling Luxury’s growth.
“The company’s valued at about $60 million. My personal net worth is around $40 million.”
“$40 million?”
“Give or take.”
Tyler stopped walking.
“And I’ve been borrowing $20 from you for gas money?”
“You have.”
“I’m such an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot, Tyler. You’re just self-absorbed. There’s a difference.”
We drove in silence for several minutes before Tyler spoke again.
“What’s my job going to be?”
“You’ll start in the workshop learning how jewelry is made. Then you’ll move to inventory management, client services, and eventually sales.”
I looked ahead at the road.
“By the end of six months, you’ll understand every aspect of the business. And then?”
“Then you’ll have learned to respect what other people do for a living, including your sister.”
“Victoria?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really, really sorry. Not just for taking the necklace, but for… for never seeing you. For never asking about your life or caring about your success.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you’re here, Tyler. You could have called Dad to bail you out, or hired a lawyer, or blamed me for overreacting.”
I looked at him as we pulled up.
“Instead, you’re accepting responsibility and trying to make it right.”
“I want to make it right.”
“Good. Because Monday morning at 7:00 a.m., you start learning what it really takes to create something worth $2 million.”
Tyler nodded.
“I’ll be there.”
For the first time in years, I believed my little brother was finally ready to grow up. Six months later, Tyler had become one of my most dedicated employees.
He understood the craftsmanship, the artistry, and the business acumen required to succeed in luxury goods. More importantly, he understood his sister.
The necklace that started it all sold to a private collector for $2.4 million. Tyler helped coordinate the sale.
