She Said We’d Be Rich

The man looked me up and down as I shoved my hand against the security door just before it closed."Don't play dumb with me!"This apartment was bought outright by Lydia Zaydn last week!"I jammed my fingers into the narrowing gap, the door biting down until my knuckles turned red."To celebrate moving in, we even went shopping at Hermès yesterday!"This is the password Lydia gave me. Who are you supposed to be?"I shouted as I tried to squeeze inside, but the man was much stronger than I expected. No matter how hard I pushed, I could not get in.He braced one hand against the doorframe and casually flicked dust from the sleeve of his suit with the other."Miss, if you want to scam someone, can you at least use a smarter trick? I've seen plenty of obsessive fans like you. But there's no celebrity living here. Just me, an ordinary businessman."If you keep trying to force your way in, I'll have security come up and throw you out."I pulled out my phone and flipped through my c

No. I had to find Lydia.Even if she was not at the apartment, she would definitely go back to the company.She had not taken any of her things. Her desk still had that humidifier she loved so much.I forced myself to ignore the dizziness and made my way toward the office towers downtown.By the time I staggered into the company lobby, the security shift had changed. Still, they would recognize my face. After all, I used to work here as a sales rep.I slipped inside during the brief moment when the access gate opened and ran straight for the HR department."Where's Lydia? Has anyone seen Lydia come back to process her resignation?"The moment I burst into the HR office, I grabbed hold of Jess, the HR staffer I knew well.She had been eating takeout in front of her computer. I startled her so badly that her fork fell to the floor.She stared at me in panic."Y…You… How did you get in here? Didn't security stop you?""Cut the crap! I'm asking you where Lydia is! She said she r

"Don't come any closer! Take one more step, and I won't be nice!"I grabbed a shard of broken glass from the ground and held it tightly in front of me. The jagged edge sliced into my palm, blood running down my wrist, but I felt nothing at all."It was you. It had to be you who swapped everything out!"Where did you hide my bag? Where did you hide Lydia?"Austin stopped in front of the pile of trash. There was no anger in his eyes, only a quiet sadness."Ms. Newton, aren't you tired of this yet? There is no Lydia. There was never a hundred million. And there was never any Hermès.""Shut up, you liar!"I waved the shard of glass wildly."We were complaining about our boss going bald just yesterday! We even went to get our nails done together!"Look! This color was her choice: cherry red!"I raised the hand caked with dirt and smeared with blood. Black grime was packed into the gaps under my nails.There was no cherry red at all, only chipped, faded remnants of old nail polish

Austin did not speak. He simply pulled another newspaper out of the folder.The paper had already yellowed, its edges were curled, and it was dated one month earlier.He spread it flat on the concrete floor in front of me and pointed to a small social news item tucked into the corner of the page.[Woman disappears after causing a disturbance at work due to layoff pressure.]The accompanying photo showed a woman kneeling on the ground, clutching a man's leg and sobbing hysterically.Her clothes were torn out of shape, her face was streaked with tears, and dignity was nowhere to be found.Though her face had been blurred, I recognized her instantly.The clothes she was wearing were the same ones I wore, that cheap counterfeit Chanel set.The bald man was my boss."It wasn't some bold resignation," Austin said quietly, tearing away the last illusion."Amanda, you were fired."Because your performance ranked last for three consecutive months."Because your mental state was unst

I forced Austin back until he retreated out from under the bridge.He looked at me, his eyes dim and heavy."Amanda, have you really thought this through?""Get out!"I screamed with everything I had, my voice breaking, my throat tearing raw.Austin let out a quiet sigh and turned away, pulling out his phone."I'm sorry, but I can't watch you go on like this."Hello, 911? I need the Mental Health Center as well…"There's a critically ill patient here with violent tendencies. The location is…"I heard every word.I did not run.In the distance, sirens wailed. Flashes of light flickered across the walls of the underpass, stabbing into my eyes, piercing straight through my dreams.Footsteps grew closer, mixed with urgent shouts.Panic hit me. My whole body began to shake.I turned around, grabbed the woven sack, and shouted at the empty air, "Lydia! Wake up! Don't sleep!"These bandits are back to steal our money!"Hurry, pack up! We're moving again!"I stuffed bottles an