Chapter 4

All four guards charged me at once inside the record room. Two grabbed my arms, twisted them behind my back, and slammed me against the wall.

"Stop moving, or I'll kill you!"

Their hands clamped around my wrists and wrenched my arms higher. My wrists started bleeding, and my joints hurt from being squeezed as they almost popped.

I fought back as best I could and drove my heel down on one guard's toes. "Get off me! You're helping them commit a crime!"

The security guard cursed and tightened his grip. The confession letter fell to the floor, and they were even stepped on quite a few times.

Jane walked forward, grabbed my hair, and forced my head back. With her other hand, she seized mine and dragged it toward the ink pad.

"You don't have a choice! You're taking the blame today, whether you like it or not!"

-

The elevator indicator at the end of the hall lit up.

Thomas straightened his tie and hurried over to greet the inspection team. Branch employees had packed the area around the elevator, as they were called to welcome the staff from headquarters.

Thomas raised his voice over the crowd.

"The chairman will be here any second! We caught the person who betrayed the company. Your year-end bonuses are safe. Stand straight and behave yourselves!"

The employees shouted their agreement.

"She deserves it! Send her to prison!"

"Stealing from the company is disgraceful!"

The elevator chimed, and the doors opened.

The chairman stepped out, surrounded by senior management and bodyguards. He wore a tailored suit, and fury darkened his face. His presence silenced the entire floor.

The moment Thomas and Jane saw him, their expressions changed.

Jane gripped my arm and rushed to claim credit.

"Mr. Gomez! We worked all night and found the person who stole the money! It was Mavis! We were just about to make her sign the confession and put her thumbprint on it!"

She held out the confession, which bore half of my thumbprint.

Eager to impress him, the head of security pressed harder on my shoulder and kicked the back of my knee to make me fall to the floor.

"Stay still, Mavis! If you stole from the company, you should've known you'd get caught! How can you do something stupid when you're so young?"

My knee gave out from the pressure, and I nearly fell on the tiles.

That was the story they had prepared for headquarters. A scapegoat, a forged confession, and the same lie repeated by everyone at the branch.

They assumed the chairman would never bother listening to an intern. Once my thumbprint was on the page, the five-hundred-thousand-dollar gap would simply disappear.

I forced myself upright and looked straight at the one who had the highest authority in the company.

"Dad, do you think so too?"