Chapter 4

The brilliant plan Will had in mind?

Forcing me not to go to the police and report the assault I had endured.

"Why are you even planning to tell the cops about this? Do you really want people to know you've been violated? What good is that gonna do? It's like you want everyone gawking at you as the girl who got ruined!

"And think about it. What happens after they're released from jail? What if they come after you for revenge?

"Drop it, Petra. It's already happened! Reporting it isn't gonna help! Trust me!"

Back then, Will held me tightly in his arms. He stayed by my side for days on end. He told me he would never find me appalling, no matter what those people had done to me.

After all, it had all been to protect Jolyn.

The taste of blood filled my mouth. Only then did I realize I'd bitten my lip hard enough to draw blood.

Five years had passed, yet I still dreamed about that night constantly. Again and again, I woke to the sound of my own sobbing, then lay awake for the rest of the night, consumed by fear.

When I was struggling the most, I told Will about all my fears and anxieties just so I wouldn't feel so alone in my suffering.

And now, I knew the truth. He had been the very person responsible for what happened to me in the first place.

Even so, five years had passed. Apart from these two screenshots I had found by chance. I had no other evidence that could make them pay.

Suddenly, my phone rang. The call came from my hometown.

"Petra, your mother was rushed to the hospital after a sudden heart attack! She desperately needs money!" my neighbor cried.

She immediately sent me several videos that showed my mother being wheeled into the back of an ambulance with her eyes closed.

Panic seized me. I had to transfer the money to my neighbor right away.

I opened my banking app, only to discover that I didn't have enough funds to make the transfer. Confused, I checked my savings account.

There were only a few cents left.

I frantically scrolled through my transaction history and discovered that all my money had been transferred out to Jolyn that morning.

I called her in a fit of hysterical rage. "Give me my money back, bitch! Or I'll make sure you spend years behind bars!"

Once again, Will took over the phone. "Come on, Petra. You use the same passcode for everything, including your banking app! Jolyn decided to prank you with it so you'd learn to be smarter about that.

"That's way more noble than you're willing to admit, don't you think?

"I went with her this morning to find her a new place to stay. We found one, but we ran out of cash, so we decided to borrow your money and pay you back some other time."

"Fuck you! My mom is having a heart attack right now, and I need that money! Give it back now!"

Nothing followed. They simply hung up on me.

I was about to go straight to find them and demand my money when a message arrived along with a notification from my banking app. I opened them and found a voice note from Will.

"I can't believe you'd make up a lie as shitty as your mother having a heart attack just to force Jolyn to give you money. You're genuinely the most selfish person I've ever met. Here's 80 bucks. Take it and stop making a scene," he said.

My neighbor called again.

"Petra! Why haven't you sent the money yet? Your mom's condition is critical!"

My knees nearly buckled.

"Wait! I'm trying to get the money!"

I forced myself to regain my composure and started downloading every loan app I could find. As I waited for one of my loan applications to be approved, my neighbor called again.

Despite the terrified tears in my voice, I tried my best to speak clearly. "Wait, I almost have it..."

"That won't be necessary anymore." The urgency had vanished from her voice. "She's gone. Please make time to come home so we can give her a proper funeral."

My mind went blank. A piercing ring filled my ears as shock overwhelmed me. My phone slipped from my hand and crashed to the floor.

By the time I regained awareness, several new messages were waiting.

I opened them in a daze.

Jolyn had sent me a few photos.

Jolyn: [Look! This is my new home. Willie helped.]

She had used my money to rent herself a place to call home. And in doing so, she had destroyed mine.

I wiped the tears from my face and dragged myself to the nearest police station.

…

"I'd like to file a report. Someone stole 15,000 dollars from my savings without my authorization, and because I couldn't access that money, my mother died after suffering a heart attack."