Chapter 3
My mother stared at me in shock, tears still clinging to her lashes.
My father clenched his fists. "Rosemary, what game are you playing?"
I didn't answer. I just leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes.
After a brief exchange, the police decided to hold me for observation.
"Mr. and Mrs. Elliott," the older officer said carefully, "I suggest you return tomorrow. Your daughter's condition..."
He trailed off. My father helped my mother up. She couldn't stop crying.
At the door, he looked back at me.
In that instant, he looked ten years older.
The holding cell was cramped, just a narrow bed and a toilet.
A TV played the evening news. "A tech company experienced abnormal stock fluctuations today. Authorities have launched an investigation..."
I shut my eyes as silent tears slid down my face.
Dad, Mom, I was sorry.
Just wait a little longer, and it would all be over soon.
Outside, I heard officers whispering. "That girl was terrifying."
"How does someone that young just... break?"
"Her parents seem pretty normal, but their kid..."
Early the next morning, the entrance to the police station was lined with unfamiliar vehicles.
I was still half-asleep when they dragged me out of the holding cell, but I woke up fast when I saw all those strangers waiting in the interrogation room.
"Rosemary Elliott," a man said coldly, "at 8:30 last night, fifteen million dollars was illegally transferred from a tech company account."
The speaker was a middle-aged man with an ID hanging from his neck, marking him as the captain of the city's economic crime unit.
His voice was cold as ice, nothing like the kind female officer from yesterday.
I stared at him in shock. "Fifteen million? What are you talking about? I just wrecked some bikes!"
The captain slammed a thick file onto the table. "Every transaction was authorized using your authentication key and digital signature. The evidence is all here."
My mind went totally blank.
How was this even possible? I just smashed a few bikes.
A sharp, urgent pounding came from outside the door.
The door burst open, and Jovanni and Nathaly entered, my parents right behind them.
My mom's eyes were puffy and red, and my dad's face was pale and grim. It was clear they'd been up all night.
"Sir, we have an important tip!" Nathaly said, her voice trembling.
She looked at my parents, her voice shaky. "Mr. and Mrs. Elliott, I really didn't want to say anything, but... Rosemary's gotten hooked on online gambling and racked up a huge debt. Last night, she stole my laptop, and I'm afraid..."
"No way!" my mom snapped, cutting her off. "My daughter would never do something like that!"
Nathaly tapped on her phone and hit play. "This is what Rosemary said two nights ago when she was wasted."
My voice came out, slurred and messy. "I need to get my hands on a big chunk of cash... Once I pull off this job, I'll never have to answer to anyone again..."
My heart was pounding.
When did she record this? Why can't I remember a thing?
My dad's face went ghostly pale.
Jovanni pulled out his phone. "Sir, here are my messages with Rosemary. Lately, she's been asking me all sorts of questions about the company's financial system..."
He started flipping through screenshots, each one clearly showing me asking for the passwords to the company accounts.
Those were my words, my profile picture, but I swore I never sent any of this.
"And there's this," Nathaly said, pulling out an encrypted flash drive. "We found it in Rosemary's dorm yesterday. It's packed with a bunch of paperwork for foreign bank accounts."
The cop took the flash drive and plugged it into the computer.
The screen lit up with a mess of code and bank files I couldn't make heads or tails of.
"Rosemary, what is this all about?" My dad's voice was shaking.
I tried to say something, but my throat was so tight I couldn't get a word out.
Just then, another cop walked in and whispered something in the captain's ear. The captain's face grew even more grim.
"Mr. and Mrs. Elliott, did you get any calls from debt collectors last night?" the captain asked.
My mom nodded, tears streaming down her face again. "Someone called and said Rosemary owed them a million dollars... I thought it was just a scam..."
Jovanni shook his head and let out a sigh. "Mr. and Mrs. Elliott, Rosemary was acting weird yesterday because she was nervous about what she'd done."
Nathaly wiped her tears and added, "I never thought she'd actually do something like this... It's my fault for not realizing sooner..."
All the evidence lined up, pointing to one thing. I was the bold con artist behind the whole financial scam.
When my mom heard all this, she swayed, her eyes rolled back, and she just collapsed.
"Mom!" I lunged forward, but the cops held me back.
My dad grabbed her before she hit the ground, then turned to look at me, his eyes haunted by despair and shock.