My Murderer Bought My FakeChapter 2

"…I know! I told you I'll have the money soon! It's forty-five grand, right? …Let them threaten me! So what if they call my family? Stop harassing me!"

A pause. Then a harsh, breathless laugh.

"Find out? How could they possibly find out? As long as that idiot takes the bag out of the building tonight, she can scream until she's blue in the face. Everyone will just assume she pocketed the forty-five grand herself. Who’s going to believe a junior copywriter over the Operations Manager?"

I stopped breathing. The cold porcelain chilled the back of my legs.

"Valerie was practically drooling over it today… Next week, I’ll pitch a 'policy update' to her. I’ll suggest that for any physical prize valued over ten thousand dollars, the company reserves the right to recall it and issue a cash bonus instead. When we do that, I'll force Harper to pay back the market difference! I get my debt cleared, buy a real bag to kiss up to Valerie, and I'm totally in the clear."

Another pause as the person on the other end spoke.

"And if she can't pay it back?" Gemma hissed viciously. "Then the company sues her for embezzlement of corporate assets!"

The voice on the phone muttered something else.

"Shut up!" Gemma barked, her voice echoing off the bathroom tiles. "Why do you think I took such a massive risk? You think I like having those loan sharks breathing down my neck? Just get through tonight, and we’re fine."

The call ended.

The heels clicked rapidly away, stopping briefly near the door.

"Where the hell is that stupid girl? Why hasn't she come to register yet…"

The bathroom door swung shut.

Inside the stall, I was trembling. A profound, bone-deep ice spread through my veins.

So that was it.

It wasn't a simple mistake. Gemma had drowned herself in predatory online debt. She had swapped the real prize for a fake, sold the genuine Kelly bag for forty-five thousand dollars to cover her loans, and needed a fall guy.

I was the chosen sacrifice.

The moment I walked out of this hotel with that box, the stain on my name would become permanent. Even if I didn't try to sell it tomorrow, she already had a plan to legally corner me into coughing up money I didn't have.

I could not leave this party with that bag.

There were two hours left before the gala ended. Before then, I had to get this counterfeit out of my hands.