Now You See It, Now You Don't

The next morning, as soon as I arrived at the bank, I saw Alfie and Demi wailing uncontrollably at the entrance.

Alarmed, I rushed over to ask what had happened. That was when I found out that their bank card was still on them, but all the money inside had vanished.

The bizarre theft immediately caught the bank's attention.

Seeing how distraught they were, I handed them some warm water and patiently asked if anyone else had touched their card.

Alfie and Demi shook their heads firmly. They swore they had kept the card under their pillow the entire night. The doors and windows showed no signs of being tampered with, so there was no way it had been stolen.

Watching them break down in tears was heartbreaking. I immediately checked the bank system to find the withdrawal time and ATM location for them.

According to the logs, the money had indeed been taken out—little by little—last night. The thief drained the entire five million dollars from the account overnight, using multiple ATMs.

Alfie and Demi nearly collapsed upon hearing this. Feeling terrible for them, I begged my supervisor to pull the surveillance footage from each withdrawal location.

Faced with such a bizarre incident, everyone held their breath and stared intently at the screen.

But the person withdrawing all the money in the surveillance footage was me, Caitlin Howard.

A shiver ran down my spine as I recalled those eerie images. Snapping back to reality, I finally came to my senses.

Right now, that same elderly couple was sitting before me again, hesitating as they prepared to open their bag.

Panic surged through me. I immediately stopped them. "Wait! Are you here to make a deposit? How much?"

Their eyes welled with tears as they choked out their answer, "Five million dollars. This is our daughter's surgery money."

Their voices were barely above a whisper, but Madison, who had been watching them closely, rushed over excitedly.

"Five million dollars? You two look like you can't even afford dinner. Where the hell would you get five million dollars?"

Alfie and Demi lowered their heads. They wanted to explain, but I cut in before they could, "Madison, stop obsessing over other people's money and get back to your counter."

Madison's eyes widened in shock as she turned to me.

"Since when did you get so stingy, Caitlin? This is their money, not yours. Why can't I ask them questions?"

Something about her reaction didn't sit right with me.

In my previous life, the moment Madison heard "five million dollars", she had rushed over and bombarded Alfie and Demi with questions.

Even after I started processing their deposit, she hovered around, reluctant to leave.

When the money was stolen, she and my boyfriend, Evan Watson, were the first to accuse me.

Could she have peeked at the couple's PIN while I was handling the transaction?

I dismissed the thought immediately.

Tellers like us worked behind a glass partition, and customers stood on the other side. The PIN pad had a cover. There was no way Madison could have seen it from where she stood.

Even if she somehow guessed the PIN, she couldn't have stolen the card that had been hidden under their pillow all night.

Besides, the person caught on surveillance was undeniably me.

This matter shouldn't be that simple.

A million thoughts raced through my head. I stepped in front of Madison to block her view and turned to Alfie and Demi.

"This is a large deposit. Let's move to the VIP room."

They exchanged confused glances. Before they could move, Madison grew anxious.

"Are you out of your mind, Caitlin? What exactly makes them VIPs?"

I let out a tired sigh. Ignoring her protests, I led Alfie and Demi away.

Just to be safe, I requested my manager's presence as a witness, citing the high deposit amount.

Only when I handed them back their bank card—now holding their full five million dollars—did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

This time, Madison hadn't been able to see a thing. There was no way she could have learned their PIN.

At least, that was what I told myself. Yet, the real mystery still loomed.

How had the thief gotten their card?

I wanted to suspect Madison, but no matter how I looked at it, she was just a normal person.

She was my colleague and my best friend. Sure, she loved to travel and have fun, but I had never heard of her having the kind of skills needed to pull off a theft like this.

Deep in thought, I absentmindedly made my way downstairs, only to misstep. My foot slipped. Before I knew it, I was tumbling down the staircase.

As my colleagues' startled cries filled the air and they helped me up, I caught a glimpse of Madison's back as she stepped out. She had already changed out of her uniform.