Chapter 4

My colleagues bombarded the chat with question marks. Cecilia didn't hold back. "Audrey, Ms. Shaw handed you the cash in front of everyone yesterday, and now you're saying it just disappeared? If you're trying to scam Ms. Shaw, just admit it. You don't need to come up with such a lame excuse." Others joined in immediately. "Audrey, first you said you didn't get paid, and now the money magically vanished? That's just insane." "Even if we wanted to trust you, there's a limit, right? You can't keep dragging this out." ... I typed frantically, trying to explain myself, but the flood of accusations drowned out my words. Finally, Justine intervened. "Enough! I'll cover it for you this time. But Audrey, this is the last time." I felt a mix of relief and gratitude, apologizing repeatedly. After all, yesterday's events had already shown that the problem was on my end. Then, the police called. They'd gone through the banking system with a fine-tooth comb but found no issues or signs of tampering. My account was perfectly normal. The money had just disappeared—like it was never there. Scientifically, this was impossible, so they said they'd continue investigating. After hanging up, I was even more unsettled, but I had no idea this was far from over. That day, a client needed to make a large transfer. As there was an issue with the business account, we had to temporarily receive the amount on a personal card and then transfer it into the company account. I was the only one with a card on hand, and despite explaining the strange events that had been happening recently, no one believed me. They thought I was making it all up, and I was forced to go ahead with the transaction. As soon as the client wired millions into my card, I immediately started transferring it to the company account. And then, in the blink of an eye, the millions in my account vanished. Staring at the empty balance, everyone was shocked. The next second, all eyes turned to me with fury. "Audrey! Are you out of your mind? How dare you move company funds in front of all of us?" "Call the cops! She has to be arrested!" ... I was losing it as everyone's anger erupted around me. Why? Why did the money disappear every time it went into my account? Just then, my phone buzzed with a new text message. I looked down at the screen, and my mind went into overdrive. And then, it hit me.