Chapter 6
650words
I couldn't help but laugh at how flustered she looked.
"Since your memory seems to be a little off, let me remind you. Last month, after you returned from your Jordale trip, you treated that bracelet like a treasure and spent a long time bragging about it to all of us.
"What did you say again? Oh, I remember now. You said that bracelet was one of a kind, the only one in the world. Tell us, Madison. How did you disguise yourself as me? And how did you steal that money with my face?"
Madison stomped her foot in frustration. Evan, seeing her in such a panic, shoved me to the ground in a fit of anger.
"How can you be so vile, Caitlin? It's just a bracelet. There are tons of copies out there! What's that supposed to prove? You've been friends with Madison for so long, and now you're blaming her to cover up your own crime?"
I wasn't prepared for the push, and the pain in my already-injured ankle flared up again.
Seeing the pained expression on my face, Willow was the first to rush to my side, steadying me. She turned her stern gaze on Evan.
"If I'm not mistaken, you're Caitlin's boyfriend. But from the very beginning, you've been helping Madison shift the blame onto Caitlin. Your actions make me wonder if there's more to this story than we're being told."
Evan's face turned red with embarrassment. He quickly tried to explain, "It's because she's my girlfriend that I care about her deeply. I can't stand to see her being a thief. I just want her to be on the right path. What's that got to do with you?"
I stared into Evan's eyes as I said slowly, "If you really cared about me, you'd notice that my ankle is still swollen. I can barely walk without Ms. Pollard helping me, but the person in the footage was walking just fine."
Evan froze, as though only then realizing that I, his girlfriend, had actually been injured.
By this time, the rest of my colleagues had finally caught on. They eyed Madison and Evan with growing suspicion.
"These two are acting really strange. Who protects their girlfriend's friend like this, then blindly accuses their own girlfriend?"
"Exactly. I saw Caitlin fall yesterday. She couldn't even stand up. Even a miracle worker couldn't have recovered in just one night."
"Evan has never come to the bank to visit Caitlin, but suddenly he shows up today? If there's nothing shady going on, I'll eat my hat!"
Listening to their murmurs, I raised an eyebrow at the now pale Evan.
"Alright, talk. How did you two pull it off? Mr. and Mrs. Austin's daughter is still lying in the hospital, waiting for a life-saving operation. You two thieves better hand over the money."
Alfie's and Demi's faces suddenly lit up with hope. They rushed over to Madison, pulling at her desperately.
"Young lady, we've put up with your insults yesterday. We didn't want to escalate things for our daughter's sake. But now she's lying in the hospital, fighting for her life! We really need that money!"
Madison covered her nose in disgust as she wrenched herself free. She screamed in anger, "Are you all blind? The person in the footage is Caitlin! She's the one who stole the money! What do you think you're going to get from me?
"Your daughter was unlucky to be born into your family. She's probably already dead by now. Why don't you stop crying and kill the person who did this to her? Don't think you can just scam me with all your sobbing!"
