All Chapters of She Stole My Bag to Please a Stranger: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

Right after the semester started, I ate at this particular restaurant, Marco's, all the time because it was so close to campus.The owner, Ruby Friday, was a woman in her 40s, sharp as a tack, always sizing up the students who walked through the door and calculating exactly how much she could squeeze out of each one.That day at lunch, I ordered a ten-dollar sandwich and sat with my earbuds in, going over flashcards. A few minutes later, a steaming, greasy-looking bowl of something called the "house special seafood stew" was slammed down onto my table.I blinked and pulled out my earbuds. "Excuse me. You've got the wrong table. I didn't order this.""Oh, no, it's yours!" Ruby flashed me a slick grin and pushed a fork into my hand."Sweetheart, I see you in here all the time, always dressed so nice, carrying all those nice things. Someone like you isn't going to miss a few extra bucks."This is our brand-new signature special. I had the kitchen whip it up just for you because I li

Chapter 2

I grabbed my bag and walked out of Marco's without looking back.Once I was outside, I blocked the restaurant on every app I had. I was never setting foot in that place again.It should have ended there, just an annoying little incident. But when I got back to the dorm, I barely had time to pour myself a glass of water before my roommate, Paige Weston, started in on me.Paige was our department's student council ethics representative and had built her entire persona around being the "scrappy kid who clawed her way up from nothing" and the self-appointed moral authority of our floor. Her favorite thing in the world was showing off her empathy and her "big-picture thinking" at every possible opportunity."Gemma, that was way out of line." Paige turned to face me, looking absolutely devastated on someone else's behalf."I just went to Marco's for lunch, and the owner was practically in tears telling me what happened. She's a single mom with a kid in high school, working herself to

Chapter 3

That bag was a limited-edition designer piece my father flew all the way to Avenelle to buy for my 18th birthday. He stood in line for hours to get it. The bag alone was over three thousand dollars, and with everything else the store required him to buy first, the total came closer to five thousand dollars.The design was a little flashy for everyday use, so I rarely carried it. I kept it stored away in its dust cover.I took a deep breath, forced down the rage building in my chest, and turned to face the room. "Who touched the dust cover on top of my closet?"Tessa and Nina both looked blank and shook their heads.Paige stopped what she was doing, dried her hands, and walked back in with that signature self-righteous smile on her face. "Oh, that bag? I took it."I stared at her in disbelief. "You took it? What gave you the right to touch my things? Where is it?"Paige rolled her eyes and settled into her chair like she had all the time in the world."Relax. What's the big deal?

Chapter 4

The officers didn't budge."Whether or not it was stolen, you can sort that out at the station. The victim is clear that she never gave you permission, and the value of the item meets the threshold for a criminal case. You're coming with us."After that, the police put me in the car too and drove over to Marco's.When the cruiser pulled up in front of the restaurant and the officers walked in to demand Ruby turn over the stolen property and cooperate with the investigation, every last trace of that woman's usual bravado vanished from her face."I… I didn't know it was stolen! That college kid shoved it on me and said it was some kind of compensation for emotional distress!"Her legs nearly gave out under her. She scrambled into the kitchen and came stumbling back with the designer bag clutched to her chest, shoving it at the officers like it was burning her hands."Officer, I swear I had nothing to do with this! I'm a victim here too! I barely even know her!"So much for Paige's

Chapter 5

I held up three fingers and spoke at an even, measured pace, "First, the leather is damaged. You owe me a thousand dollars for depreciation and cleaning. Second, you're going to write a full confession by hand, admitting that you stole my personal property."And third, you're going to sign a promissory note and transfer the money to my account within three days. If you can't do that, I'll take you to court.""A… A thousand dollars?"Paige's eyes went wide. "Gemma, are you insane? I don't have that kind of money!""You sure love being generous with other people's things." I let out a cold laugh."Funny how it stings when it's your own wallet, huh? That's your problem. Borrow it, take out a loan—I don't care. If you don't pay, you can wait for your arraignment. As for you…"I turned to the woman cowering in the corner. "You got lucky this time. But if you ever come at me again, I'll make sure you never run another business in your life."Under the watchful eyes of the police, and

Chapter 6

It didn't take long. My full name, my major, my class, and even my dorm room number were all dug up and plastered across the comments.The mob came for me like a tidal wave.When I walked across campus to class, I could feel the stares everywhere, sharp and hostile, like knives at my back. People pointed and whispered as I passed.At lunch in the dining hall, some guy deliberately walked straight toward me carrying a tray of scalding hot food. I was quick enough to dodge, but the broth still splashed across my shoes.He didn't apologize. Instead, he sneered loud enough for everyone around to hear."Oh, isn't this the little princess who makes people grovel? What, you gonna call the cops on me too? You think this school belongs to your family or something?"When I got back to the dorm, I found that someone had poured foul-smelling filthy water all over my desk. My textbooks were soaked through, and the word "die" was scrawled across my chair in black marker.Tessa and Nina were h

Chapter 7

That same night, the private investigation team my father sent tracked down everything behind the anonymous account.The phone number used to register it belonged to the restaurant owner's nephew, a high school kid back in her hometown. The IP addresses tied to the login and the posts traced back to two locations—an off-campus Internet cafe and the shared network hub in our dormitory building.There was no question. This was a coordinated act of revenge between Paige and the owner of Marco's.They thought using someone else's phone number and a cafe computer would make them untraceable. They had no idea that against a professional forensic team, every move they'd made was completely exposed.I took the technical reports and pushed open the dorm room door.Paige was sitting in her chair with a sheet mask on. When I walked in, her eyes darted away for a second before she forced herself to look bored and let out a dismissive scoff.The school's hardline announcement that afternoon h

Chapter 8

All those students who had rallied behind the "struggling single mom" narrative in the comments were now finding out they'd been eating recycled waste oil and rotten meat. They were flooding the campus health center and the local ER, panicking and demanding to be checked out.Paige's fall was even worse.She had basically been Marco's unofficial brand ambassador for months, constantly posting about the restaurant on social media and using her student council position to pressure other students into eating there.It didn't take long before every student who had ever gotten food poisoning or a stomach bug from Marco's turned their fury on Paige.People called her a fraud and a sellout to her face when she walked across campus. She was blocked on every platform. Hate notes were shoved through the gap under her dorm room door, one after another.She lost her free meals. Worse, she lost the carefully cultivated "everybody's friend" reputation she'd spent years building.Tessa and Nina

Chapter 9

Paige had dressed for the part, wearing a faded old button-down that had been washed so many times it had gone nearly white, her hair pulled back in a plain ponytail.Her makeup was carefully done to look like she wasn't wearing any at all, the "barely getting by but still putting on a brave face" look.She stood under the spotlight and delivered her speech with everything she had, her voice cracking with emotion. She talked about overcoming her family's poverty, working odd jobs to put herself through school, and "selflessly" dedicating herself to helping her fellow students.She even had the nerve to talk about how she had resisted temptation and protected the integrity of campus life."I may not have much in terms of material things, but I'm rich in spirit. All I want is to use whatever little I have to bring some warmth to the people around me."From where I sat in the last row of the auditorium, I could see younger students in the audience tearing up, completely taken in. I s

Chapter 10

With the situation blown wide open, the college authorities moved fast, and the police moved even faster.Three days later, Riverton posted a three-page formal notice on its official website and every bulletin board on campus."Notice Regarding the Expulsion of Paige Weston and Referral to Law Enforcement."The notice laid it all out in black and white. During her time at Riverton, Paige had committed severe violations of college regulations.She was under investigation for embezzlement of student organization funds, theft of high-value personal property, fraud involving federal financial aid, and illegal harvesting and sale of personal information.Riverton was expelling her effective immediately, revoking every award and honor she had ever received, reclaiming all misappropriated funds, and cooperating fully with the police investigation.In custody, facing a mountain of evidence with nowhere left to hide, Paige confessed to everything.With multiple charges stacked against he

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