Chapter 3

Ella called me, but I hung up on her.

Luke sent me text messages, but I blocked him.

I pulled up my bank application, cancelled my supplementary card, and revoked all payment authorizations.

The floating captions appeared again.

[Good job!]

[Let’s see what these clowns will do next.]

I leaned against the couch and shut my eyes.

No tears would come. I did not want to cry anyway.

I just felt very tired and cold.

The friendship and relationship I cherished had materialized through schemes from the very start.

The next day, I went to the study in my family home and unlocked the safe.

Inside the safe were the trust fund documents, property certificates, and other important documents my parents had left me.

I remembered that I had placed all these documents according to chronological order. Yet, they were a mess.

A few letters of authorization were missing.

My heart sank as I quickly called the trust manager, Rosalind Taylor.

“Rosalind, did anyone go to you with my documents?”

Rosalind was quiet for a few seconds.

“Ms. Swift, someone came to see me with a copy of your ID. They asked if the trust can be withdrawn early and about the procedures for changing the trustee.”

My palms were cold and sweaty. “When did that happen?”

“Last month,” Rosalind said, “but we didn’t process that request because we needed you to come sign it in person. Besides, we also needed a lawyer to be present.”

I took a deep breath. “Got it. Thanks, Rosalind.”

After I hung up, I remained seated. My mind was racing.

Was it Luke or Ella?

The floating captions appeared.

[Both of them are suspicious. Maybe they worked together.]

[Harper’s too naive. They must have cracked the code to the safe.]

I wanted to give them a chance to explain themselves.

So, I asked Ella and Luke to meet me. That way, we could talk in person.

Ella arrived very quickly. As soon as she entered, she hugged me. “Harper, have you thought it through? I knew you wouldn’t ignore us for long.”

I pushed her away. “Did you get your hands on the documents in my safe?”

She was stunned for a moment. Then, she frowned. “What do you mean? Are you accusing me of something?”

“I’m just asking if you’ve gotten your hands on them before.”

“No!” Ella raised her voice. “Harper, are you crazy? When did I ever touch anything of yours? Are you still holding what happened last time against me? Is that why you’re accusing me?”

Luke arrived, and he looked very tired.

“This is why you’ve called us here? Just to ask this?” He said, “Harper, have you been under a lot of pressure recently? Do you want to see a doctor?”

I stared at them, wanting to see if I could tell anything from their expressions.

Yet, they looked as though they had nothing to hide. They did not seem guilty at all.

“Forget it.” I stood up. “Maybe I remembered incorrectly.”

Ella let out a sigh and reached for my hand. “I told you so. You must be too tired. Come, let’s have dinner together. There’s a new restaurant that opened recently, and it’s good.”

“It’s fine.” I pulled my hand back. “I’m busy. You can head out.”

After they left, I drove myself to where the yacht was docked. I made an excuse that I had misplaced something there.

Not many people were at the jetty. From afar, I saw a familiar car.

It was Luke’s car.

I walked over. The windows were not rolled all the way up, so I could hear their conversation.

“Did she find out something?” Ella asked.

“Impossible. I made sure there wasn’t a paper trail,” Luke said, “It was just a shot in the dark.”

“What should we do then?” Ella asked. “She cut my card, and you still need 400,000 dollars for your project. What are we going to do?”

“After this incident blows over, I’ll sweet-talk her and make her sign the investment mandate.

“Her trust fund is more than enough. After all, she won’t understand anything. Once she signs it, I’ll be able to retrieve the money,” Luke said.