Chapter 4

I heard Ella laughing.

“What would I do without you? You’re the one who can fool her like that.”

“You’re not half bad either,” Luke said. “Haven’t you gotten a lot from her?”

Then, I heard some rustling. Through the gap, I saw them hugging and kissing.

I took out my phone. Then, I snapped photos and recorded some footage.

My hands were trembling, yet I forced myself to stay calm.

The floating captions kept appearing.

[You must save the recordings well! This is evidence!]

[Harper, you can do this! Teach these ingrates a lesson!]

I turned to leave. After I got back into my car, I made copies of the recording and photos.

It turned out they were conspiring against me from the start.

The trip, the relationship, and the friendship only happened because they wanted to empty the trust fund my parents had left me.

I leaned against my steering wheel and shut my eyes.

It was enough.

I would no longer give in.

Three days later, I asked Luke and Ella to meet me in a cafe.

Ella hugged me immediately, teary-eyed. “Harper, you’re finally willing to see me. I’ve been so worried over the past few days.”

Luke sat opposite me as he took a sip of his coffee. “We should talk it out. There’s no reason for us to fight.”

I took a document out of my bag and slid it toward Ella.

“These are the past transactions you’ve made with my supplementary card. You’ve spent 46,000 dollars in six months. When are you going to pay me back?”

Ella’s face turned pale. Then, she teared up. “Harper, how can you do this? We’re best friends! You’re the one who let me spend the money.”

“Did I do that voluntarily?” I laughed. “Now, you can volunteer to pay me back.”

“I-I don’t have money…”

“If you don’t have money, you can write an IOU and pay me back over time.”

I took out another document and passed it to Luke.

“As for you, your start-up capital of 80,000 dollars, office rental of 24,000 dollars, and miscellaneous fees adding up to 16,000 dollars all total up to 120,000 dollars, you can pay me back too.”

Luke frowned. “Harper, what are you doing? When we were together, didn’t you say that you wanted to support me in starting my own business?

“Now that we’ve broken up, you went against your own words.”

“It was a verbal promise, so it’s not legally binding,” I said. “If you think of this money as a form of investment, sure. Give me your company shares or an investment agreement. Let’s play by the rules.”

Luke’s expression sank.

Ella cried, “Harper, you’ve changed. All you think about now is money. Do you even remember how close we were before?”

“I do.” I took out my phone and showed them the photo I took. “I also remember how you both look when you kiss in the car.”

Ella’s crying halted.

Luke’s expression became stoic as he glared at that photo.

“I have recordings too.” I pressed the play button. “Do you want to hear how you conspired to make me sign the authorization papers?”

It was dead silent in the cafe.

Luke took a deep breath and suddenly laughed. “You took these without any permission, so this evidence isn’t legally admissible at all.”

“Is that so?” I took out another document. “What about this then? In Rosalind’s records, last month, someone used a copy of my ID to ask about early withdrawal of the trust fund and a change of trustee.

“I bet you’re the person in the surveillance footage.”

Luke’s smile froze.

The blood drained from Ella’s face. She grabbed my hand. “Harper, please listen to me…”

“I don’t need to.” I took my hand back and pulled out my phone. Then, I called Rosalind in front of them.

“Hi Rosalind, it’s me. I want to freeze all unnecessary withdrawals from my trust fund. Please also cancel all previous authorization rights.”

Rosalind answered very quickly, “Sure, Ms. Swift. I’ll make the changes immediately.”

After I hung up, I stared at Luke. “Didn’t you say your project is in need of money? Now, you won’t even get a single cent.”

Luke stood up abruptly and pressed his hands against the table. He leaned down and glared at me.

“Harper, do you have any idea what you’re doing? My project has entered its final phase, and I need this money! You’re ruining me!”

“Why didn’t you think of that when you were actively ruining me?” I asked.

Ella became frantic. “Harper, you can’t do this. W-We can talk about this…”

“There’s nothing to discuss anymore.” I took out the very last document and passed it to them.

“This is a letter from my lawyer. The trust fund is overseen by the family foundation, and any fraudulent withdrawals will trigger an investigation and recovery process.

“Whoever forged the authorization documents will receive a call from the police tonight.”

Luke’s face fell.

Ella screamed, “It wasn’t me! He’s the one who asked me to do it! I only took a copy of your ID, but I didn’t do anything else!”

“Shut up!” Luke roared at her.

I stood up and picked up my bag.

“Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you that the monthly transfers aren’t the only thing my parents left me.” I looked at Luke. “Guess how much the principal of that trust is?”

Luke was stunned.

I laughed and said, “Best of luck to you.”

Then, I walked out of the cafe. Behind me, I could hear Ella’s cries and Luke’s angry screams.