Chapter 3

"I want to see all the surveillance footage from the branch lobby today," I said, my voice booming across the lobby.

My words echoed, loud enough to shake the whole place.

"From the moment I walked in to when the box hit the counter, not a single second missing," I insisted.

This was the first step in my counterattack.

Amanda was the first to respond.

She said, "Sorry.

"The two main cameras in the lobby were just reported broken this morning.

"Right now, we can only access the silent, low-res backup footage. If you want the full HD version, you'll have to submit a request to the city branch and wait for approval."

What a coincidence.

System glitches, routine maintenance, broken equipment, so many "accidents" in a row, it's almost laughable.

When there were are this many coincidences, it was obvious someone was setting me up.

Ryan wrote it down forcefully in his notebook, his pen digging into the paper.

With all his years in criminal investigation, Ryan could spot a setup from a mile away.

Seeing the deadlock, Richard tried to offer an olive branch again.

"Jessica, this situation isn't good for anyone," Richard said.

He spoke with a tone that was both earnest and paternal.

He took an agreement from the legal team.

He said, "If you admit that your mental state led to some carelessness when you were in charge of the prize money.

"The company won't hold you responsible for any civil damages.

"The money's off the table for you.

"Just sign here, give up the prize, and while you're at it, go ahead and sign your resignation.

"Let's just end things on a good note."

So my 300 thousand dollars was gone.

My job was gone.

And I'd have to walk away with a disciplinary record hanging over my head.

They were shoving the whole scheme right in my face.

"All right," I said.

I nodded and took the pen.

Richard's eyes gleamed with triumph.

I smoothed out the agreement.

"I can sign it, but the liability terms here are way too vague," I said, tapping the blank space with my finger.

"Mr. Langston, could you add three supplementary clauses?

"First, make it clear that the cash was sealed and placed in the box by the finance department at Horizon Holdings headquarters.

"Second, write that the 300 thousand dollars was my company party prize, and that the company told me to deposit the money at this branch.

"Third, write that the finance department had already worked with Ms. Shaw ahead of time to set up this big deposit."

Richard suddenly looked alert.

"What does any of that have to do with letting you off the hook?" he shot back, his tone sharp.

I held the pen, my hand hovering in the air.

"If you don't add those three clauses, I'd rather get hauled off to the station today," I said, my voice steady and unwavering.

Richard exchanged a look with the legal team.

They probably took those three clauses for routine paperwork, and as long as it put them back in control, they were happy to go along with it.

He took the agreement back and scribbled them in without hesitation.

I picked my phone up off the table, opened a voice message, and put it on speaker so everyone could hear.

My roommate and lawyer, Emily Turner, spoke with crisp authority, her voice ringing out across the lobby.

"Jessica, this agreement is a total trap," Emily said, her tone sharp and clear.

"The waiver and the part about giving up your right to sue totally contradict each other.

"If they want you to sign, you need to make Richard delete that line in clause four, the one about 'not ruling out you switching the money yourself.'

"Otherwise, if this goes to court, that's just pinning everything on you."

Richard's face darkened.

Even under that much pressure, he'd never expected me to get my lawyer on the line and walk through the contract in real time.

Just wanting to get this over with, he swallowed his anger.

He slashed that line out with his pen and stamped his fingerprint next to it, barely holding back his rage.

"Can you sign it now?" Richard's voice was cold and forceful.

I carefully folded the agreement and tucked it into my pocket.

"Sorry, I'm not signing it," I said, my voice calm and unwavering.

"Are you messing with me?" Richard's face almost twisted with anger.

"I just needed your handwritten confirmation on those steps," I replied, keeping my tone steady.

I patted my pocket.

He signed the agreement.

That was basically a written admission that the company packed the cash, chose the location, assigned the staff, and the switch wasn't on me.

My first get-out-of-jail-free card was in the bag.

Richard reacted instantly, and he knew I'd just outsmarted him, and he was about to fire back.

"Hold on," Amanda said suddenly.

"Officer James, I need to check her belongings," Amanda said, her voice icy and cutting through the air.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"When we counted the counterfeit bills, the numbers didn't add up. One bill is missing," Amanda said, and her eyes were sharp enough to cut. "It should have been 300 thousand dollars even, and now it's 299,900. We're a hundred dollars short."

She jabbed a finger at my wallet.

"I suspect she's still hiding one," Amanda said, her voice sharp and accusing.

Ryan looked at me.

"Go ahead, check it," I said, my voice steady.

He took my wallet and checked the inner pocket.

There was a one-hundred-dollar bill.

Ryan checked the bill under the light, then ran a counterfeit detector pen across it.

"It's real," Ryan confirmed, sounding confident.

Amanda immediately said, "I suspect this hundred-dollar bill is from the same batch as the genuine bills in that box.

"She must have swapped out all the real cash ahead of time, except for this one she failed to hide properly!"

The whispers in the room turned into gasps.

It was a dead end.

The wallet was mine, and the money was found in my bag.

"That isn't mine," I said.

I clenched my jaw.

"So, what, a ghost slipped it in?" Amanda sneered.

Ryan walked over, put on gloves, and took the evidence bag.

He examined the bill.

"Ms. Summers, I need a reasonable explanation for this," he said.

I said, "Check the serial number."

I didn't back down, instead, I stepped forward and tapped my finger against the glass.

"Check the serial number on this one real bill, then compare it to the record of 300 thousand dollars in fake bills seized from her machine!"

Amanda's face twitched noticeably.

Ryan turned and walked to the counter. "Pull up the list of counterfeit bills from earlier."

The printer spat out paper like crazy.

Ryan picked up the long report, his finger tracing down the rows of numbers.

Then, his finger stopped.

He looked up and stared at Amanda for a moment, his gaze lingering.

He said, "Ms. Shaw. Turns out, the serial number on this real bill is right there on the list you said was nothing but fakes."