Chapter 3

The instant Dylan saw me, a fake smile spread across his face. "Well, well. Andrea's here. What is it? Visiting Joan, or checking how much we lost?"

"Watch your mouth, Dylan," I hissed.

He let out a cold laugh. "Joan might be naive, but I saw through you a long time ago. You show up at the company every other day. Isn't it just to get close to me?"

"You really think that highly of yourself, huh?" I scoffed. "I was there to see my boyfriend."

Suddenly, Joan's expression shifted. "Then where is he? It's been three years, and you've never introduced him to us. Besides, Dylan checked the employee list. There's no one by the name of Cornelius."

Of course, Cornelius' name wouldn't appear on a regular staff list. He was the CEO.

"Which department is he in?" Dylan pressed. "I'll go find him tomorrow and confront him myself."

I wasn't about to hold back any longer, but I remembered what Cornelius had told me. He had been auditing the marketing department's accounts, and Dylan might be involved in embezzlement.

If I tipped Dylan off now, it could ruin everything. So, I bit my tongue.

In an instant, the last trace of hesitation in Joan's eyes vanished. "Andrea, if you needed money, you could've just said so. Why go this far? I know your mom needs 200 thousand dollars for surgery."

That was when I decided I wasn't going to keep the truth from her.

"Joan, I saw Dylan at the mall yesterday. He had his arm around another woman, and he bought her a designer bag."

Without missing a beat, Dylan grabbed Joan's arm. "See? She made a move on me and got nowhere, so now she's making things up. How can you trust anything a woman like that says?"

At those words, Joan raised her voice, and she pointed at me. "Andrea Fletcher! I never took you for this kind of person! You stole my gold, and now you're making up lies about Dylan? You're trying to ruin my life because you're jealous I found such a good husband. Is that it?"

As it turned out, I had been the naive one.

I watched them pile on accusation after accusation, yet I found myself growing calm. "If you're both so certain I did it, then let's take it to the police."

Having said that, I turned to leave.

Behind me, Joan's voice dripped with sweetness as she cooed, "Thank goodness you're here, darling. Otherwise, she would've kept me in the dark."

…

By the time I got home, the post had new updates.

Joan wrote, "We found a long strand of hair in the rug next to the safe. My husband and I both have short hair. My best friend, though, has long hair. I don't want to believe it's her, but the evidence is right there.

"Her mom's in the hospital and needs a lot of money for surgery. And right after my gold stash went missing, she suddenly had a diamond ring on her finger.

"My husband told me I need to learn to protect myself. He said some people pretend to be my friend, but deep down, they're just jealous of me."

Before long, the comment section blew up.

One comment read, "Girl, wake up! The proof is right there!"

"Call the cops! Why keep a 'friend' like that around?"

"Your husband sounds like an amazing man! He's been there for you the whole time."

Joan replied, "My husband says money isn't important. What matters is that I'm safe. I'm so lucky to have married such a responsible man."

Then, she added, "Thinking back, my best friend used to tell me to get a divorce, saying I deserved better. Now, I realize maybe she wanted to steal my husband all along."

More comments flooded in.

"That's terrifying! What a toxic friend!"

"Expose her info! Let everyone around her know what kind of trash she is!"

I locked my phone, and a weight settled in my chest.

Just then, Joan called.

"Andrea, I'm giving you one last chance. Transfer two million dollars into my account before 8:00 pm tonight, or don't blame me for what happens next!"

It turned out that people really did laugh when they were at a loss for words.

"Joan, have you lost your mind?"

Her voice shot up at once. "Do you really think I don't know anything? Every time you came over, your eyes were practically glued to Dylan! I pretended not to notice all this time to save you the embarrassment!"

"If that's what you believe, then go ahead. Call the police and have me arrested," I shot back with a sneer.

With that, I hung up.