My boyfriend, Todd, insisted on dragging me to the bank to handle the wire transfer. He adamantly demanded that Gigi, his precious childhood friend who was working as a junior teller, process the transaction. He claimed he wanted to help her get some hands-on experience so she could settle into her new job. But the moment I inserted the security key, Gigi did something unfathomable: she dumped the entire capital pool into a failing penny stock called GreenTerra Solutions, which was hours away from being delisted. She turned to me, blowing a mock kiss with a grating, childish lisp. “Don’t be so grumpy, Gwenny! My horoscope said I have massive financial luck today.” “Look at that little stock, it’s so sad and green. Once Gigi doubles the money, I’ll give it all to you to spend, okay?” I was shaking with rage, demanding she cancel the trade immediately. But Todd didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the physical authorization form and signed his name to back her up. “Don’t worry about her petty lecturing, Gigi. Even if you lose every single cent of her pocket change, I can cover it ten times over!” But that wasn’t “pocket change.” That was the hundred million dollars in emergency state funding just released for the Canyon Lake Dam reinforcement project. In my past life, I had literally smashed the glass barrier and ripped the ethernet cable out of the wall to stop the transaction. Because of my desperate intervention, the company secured the materials in time, reinforced the dam, and survived the devastating summer floods. But Todd? He was fired because his precious childhood friend almost caused a catastrophic disaster. He hated me for it. He spun a web of lies, accusing me of embezzling company funds, and eventually locked me inside the archive room before setting the building on fire. “Gigi is so innocent, Gwen. How dare you terrify her? You can turn to ash right along with these records.” Now, I opened my eyes. I was right back to the exact second before Gigi clicked “Confirm Purchase.” I stepped back, folding my arms across my chest. Go ahead. Buy it. Since you, the regional project director, have personally authorized this madness. Let’s see if your horoscope can predict the absolute ruin waiting for both of you. 1 “Ding—Transaction Successful.” The massive capital pool on the screen instantly drained to zero. One hundred million dollars of emergency infrastructure funding had just been converted into shares of “GreenTerra Solutions,” a toxic, frozen stock. Gigi squealed with delight, clapping her hands. “Yay! It went through!” “Todd, look, look! It’s all green! It looks so pretty and full of life, like little grass!” She bit her thumb, spinning around to throw herself into Todd’s arms. She cooed, her voice dripping with a nauseating, high-pitched sweetness. “Todd, isn’t Gigi clever?” “Gigi did some wealth management for her big brother today!” Todd’s eyes softened with absolute adoration. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, stroking her hair. When he turned to look at me, however, his face hardened into a sneer of utter contempt. “See that, Gwen? Gigi is just naturally gifted at this.” I took a sharp step forward, reaching for the mouse, my voice cold as ice. “Todd, this is the emergency infrastructure funding the State Treasury just transferred to our firm. It’s the material procurement budget for the Canyon Lake Dam—exactly one hundred million dollars. If anything goes wrong, the criminal liability falls squarely on your head!” Todd waved me off dismissively, looking at me like I was a hysterical child. “Stop being such a fearmonger. The peak flood season doesn’t start for another month. What’s the rush? Once Gigi doubles the money in a few days, we’ll pull it out and put it back. No harm, no foul.” Looking at his arrogant, clueless face, a strange, freezing calm washed over me. I had already resigned from any active role in the company weeks ago; today, I was only here because he had begged me to accompany him. Since some people are hell-bent on digging their own graves, why should I stop them? “Fine,” I said, my voice completely level. “Since the funds have been moved, you’d better keep the original signed authorization paper safe. That’s your neck on the line.” I needed to make sure the physical evidence remained intact. He had to burn with no way out. Todd let out a harsh laugh, reaching for the official document on the desk. But Gigi’s eyes darted to it, and her restless, destructive fingers got there first. She snatched the authorization sheet, crumpling it in her fists with a childish pout. “This paper is too rough! I hate the texture! Gigi doesn’t like it!” And then, she did something unbelievable. She pulled a designer lipstick out of her Chanel bag. With aggressive, chaotic strokes, she scribbled right over the official state seal. “Look, Todd! I drew a big fat turtle!” She giggled, but she wasn’t done. With a sharp tug, she ripped the document in half. Rip— The legally binding document that held the safety of hundreds of thousands of lives was shredded into tiny pieces. “Oh, that felt so good! Total stress relief!” She laughed, tossing the shredded paper into the air. The white scraps rained down around her like cheap snow, covering the marble floor. Todd noticed me staring at her, and like a rabid guard dog defending its bone, he stepped in front of her. His face twisted in fury as he barked at me: “What are you looking at? Lose the attitude, Gwen!” “I’m the director of this project! How we manage the cash flow is my decision!” “If Gigi wants to rip up paper, I’ll order a truckload of it tomorrow for her to shred. Don’t you dare glare at her like she’s done something wrong!” Gigi peeked from behind Todd’s broad shoulder, sticking her tongue out at me. “Exactly! It’s just some stupid paper. Todd will protect me!” Right then, the stock market opened. The penny stock didn’t even put up a fight. It plunged in a vertical, straight line. Limit down. Frozen at the bottom. One hundred million dollars, instantly locked in a death spiral. Within seconds, ten million dollars of the principal simply evaporated into thin air. Gigi looked at the plummeting numbers and slammed the mouse down in frustration. “Ugh! What’s wrong with this stupid stock? It’s so annoying!” “The green turned to ugly red! Gigi wants to punish it!” Her fingers grabbed the mouse again, switching back to the bank’s internal portal. “I’m going to take the rest of the bank’s vault reserves and buy more to average down! I’ll force it to go back up!” She was actually trying to tap into the bank’s federal reserve liquidity to double down on a delisted stock. Instead of stopping her, Todd grinned, looking incredibly proud. “That’s my girl. Bold move.” Suddenly, the phone on the desk erupted into a violent vibration. The caller ID flashed in bold, urgent letters: CANYON LAKE DAM SITE – EMERGENCY COMMAND Todd reached out to grab it. But Gigi was faster. She snatched the phone away. 2 “So loud! Shut up!” Gigi pouted, tapping the screen to answer. The moment the call connected, a hoarse, panicked scream blasted through the speaker. “Todd! Where is the hundred million? Why hasn’t the wire cleared?!” “The main wall of the dam is already showing structural fractures! Our thirty-day reinforcement window is incredibly tight. Without the funds, the suppliers are refusing to release the steel rods!” “The dam could fail at any minute! Wire the money now! People’s lives are on the line!!” The voice was raw, frantic, on the verge of tears. But Gigi only made a face of deep disgust. She held the phone away from her ear, yelling back: “Why are you screaming? You’re hurting Gigi’s ears!” “What dam? What steel? It’s just a few thousand dollars, stop nagging! Wait until our stock bounces back!” “Don’t call back, you’re so annoying! Bye-bye!” Click. Without a shred of hesitation, she hung up. Then, with a few quick swipes, she added the emergency command center’s number to her block list. Finally, she held the phone by its edges with two manicured fingers, grimacing. “Ugh, this phone smells like dirt and mud. It’s covered in gross germs!” Right next to her sat a massive, ornate saltwater aquarium filled with exotic fish. She flicked her wrist. Splash! The phone plunged straight to the bottom of the tank, the screen flickering out as water seeped into the casing. Todd didn’t even blink. Instead, he pulled a silk pocket square from his suit and tenderly wiped Gigi’s fingers. “You did the right thing, sweetie. Those vultures from the site don’t know when to shut up.” I watched them both, feeling as though I were looking at two ghosts. “The man you just hung up on,” I said, my voice eerily calm, “is the Chief Emergency Engineer of the state.” Todd scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Keep acting, Gwen.” “I’m the director of this project. So what if the funds are delayed by a couple of days? Is the dam made of cardboard? The flood season isn’t supposed to start until next month. You’re always crying wolf.” “Keep pushing me, and I won’t approve a single dime of their budget.” Right at that moment, the heavy glass doors of the VIP suite were violently kicked open. The branch manager, drenched in cold sweat, practically crawled into the room on his hands and knees. His eyes locked onto the computer monitor, where the crashed stock was displayed. Thud. His knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the carpet, shaking violently. “Who did this? Oh my god, who did this?!” “That was a hundred million dollars of protected state emergency funds! You absolute lunatics!!” The manager lunged at the keyboard like a rabid animal, desperate to reverse the trade. But the clearing system had already locked. The funds were gone. No one could save them now. Gigi jumped back, letting out a dramatic shriek. “Ah! Mr. Manager, what is wrong with you? You scared Gigi!” Todd flared up, pointing an angry finger at the manager’s face. “It’s just a hundred million! Whatever we lost, I’ll write a check for it! Do you think the Caldwell family is short on cash?” The manager slumped to the floor, clutching his head and sobbing hysterically. “That was life-saving money for the steel supports! If we don’t have those, the dam will not hold!” Gigi frowned at the sight of the weeping man. She walked over, looking down at him with immense superiority. “Gigi is a princess. Princesses don’t make mistakes. It’s just a little stock market trade, why are you making such a big deal out of it?” The manager didn’t even hear her; he was tearing at his hair in pure despair. I looked at the digital calendar on the wall. The money was trapped in a dead stock. Retrieving even a fraction of it would take a miracle. The workers at the dam had already lost their window to reinforce the structure. And these two fools were still living in their delusion of absolute power. 3 The manager was dragged out of the VIP room by security. The doors clicked shut. Gigi sank into the velvet sofa, crossing her arms and pouting. “I was just trying to help, and everyone is being so mean to Gigi!” Her eyes lit up, and she quickly dug her personal phone out of her bag. “No, Gigi is the victim here. I need my internet family to set things straight!” Gigi was a mid-tier influencer with a couple hundred thousand followers. Her entire brand relied on acting like a helpless, infantile baby to milk donations from lonely men online. She went live on her streaming app. Within seconds, thousands of viewers flooded the stream. Gigi instantly put on her signature tearful face, big watery eyes blinking at the camera. “Hi guys… Gigi is having a really, really bad day. I’m being bullied so hard right now.” The live chat went wild: Who dared to make our princess cry?! Give us names! Don’t cry, baby girl! We’re here for you! Gigi sniffled, turning the camera to point directly at me, her voice dripping with artificial sorrow. “It’s my brother’s mean girlfriend… and a scary old man from the bank.” “Gigi was just trying to help her with some investing, using some leftover money that was just sitting around. I wanted to make her a little extra pocket money.” “But she screamed at me! And the old man tried to hit Gigi!” “They’re ganging up on me… Gigi’s heart hurts so bad…” The comment section exploded with vile, vitriolic abuse targeted at me. Who is this bitch? She looks like a total nightmare. Gigi tried to make her rich and she gets mad? What an ungrateful snake! Dox her! Destroy her life! Seeing the support, Todd stepped into the camera frame. He wrapped his arm around Gigi’s shoulder, adopting the posture of a protective, wealthy CEO. “Hey everyone, I’m the lead director of the regional infrastructure project here.” “I can personally assure you all that Gigi is the sweetest, most innocent girl in the world.” With Todd’s endorsement, the chat went into a frenzy. Gift donations started filling the screen, users spending hundreds of dollars to show their support. Gigi smirked at me, tilting her chin up in triumph. “Hear that, Gwen? The world knows who the bad guy is.” “You need to apologize to Gigi right now, or my fans will ruin you.” I sat quietly in my chair, watching her perform like a cheap circus animal. “Apologize?” I let out a soft laugh. “Gigi, why don’t you tell your fans exactly what kind of ‘leftover money’ you used to buy those stocks?” Gigi rolled her eyes, scoffing directly into the camera. “It was just that stupid hundred-million-dollar flood fund!” “It was just sitting in an account collecting dust anyway! Gigi bought some stocks to double it, and once we make the profit, we’ll build them an even bigger dam! They should be thanking me on their knees!” The chat froze for a split second. Then, the comments began to scroll at a dizzying pace. One hundred million? Flood funds?! Holy shit, you can’t touch that! Wait, what stock did Gigi buy? Gigi proudly turned the camera to face the monitor. “Look! GreenTerra Solutions! See how pretty the green is?” The financially literate users in the stream immediately lost their minds: Is she fucking insane?! That stock is getting delisted today! It’s flatlining! Embezzling $100M of public emergency money into a dead stock? That is federal prison territory! Call the police! This girl is literally brain-dead! The tide turned in an instant. The adoration evaporated, replaced by a wall of sheer panic and disgust. Gigi stared at the screen, her face pale as comments like “felon,” “idiot,” and “enjoy prison” flashed by. “You’re lying! Gigi didn’t do anything wrong! Gigi is a princess!” She abruptly shut down the stream and slammed the phone onto the sofa. “Todd! They’re all bullying me! Do something!” Todd’s face had gone pale, but his arrogance kept him from admitting defeat. He glared at me, his eyes filled with a sudden, vicious malice. “Gwen! You set us up!” “You’re going to write a statement for the press right now. You’ll tell them you forced Gigi to buy those shares. You’re the mastermind behind this!” It was almost laughable. The ship was sinking, and he was still trying to play the heroic protector. 4 Todd’s face was contorted with desperation as he snatched a notepad from the desk. He scribbled a confession in frantic, messy handwriting and slammed it down in front of me. “Sign it! Now!” I sat back, not even glancing at the paper. Instead, I pointed to the four corners of the room. The tiny, blinking red lights of the security cameras glared back at us. “Todd, you are the director of this project.” “The cameras recorded who stole the security keys, who clicked the mouse, who tore up the authorization documents, and who hung up on the emergency line.” “Everything is backed up to the cloud in real-time.” “Even your little attempt to blackmail me just now is fully recorded. You want me to take the fall? In your dreams.” Todd’s hand froze. His face drained of color, beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. Hearing the word “cameras,” Gigi panicked. She looked up, tracing my gaze to the blinking red dot in the corner. True to her destructive nature, her hands moved before her brain did. “Stop filming Gigi!” With a shrill scream, she broke away from Todd, grabbed a heavy metal stapler from the counter, and hurled it at the camera lens. Smash! The camera shattered, plastic and glass raining down. Gigi clapped her hands, looking incredibly pleased with herself. “Yay! No more evidence! Nobody can catch Gigi now!” I checked my watch. “Go ahead, break them all. It doesn’t matter.” “Even if you deny it, the money is gone.” The terror Todd had been suppressing finally broke through. He was shaking, but he kept trying to save face. “Don’t play mind games with me!” “Dams don’t just collapse! The floods aren’t due for weeks!” “Even if this money is frozen, my family has billions. I’ll have my dad transfer a hundred million this afternoon to plug the hole.” “And once this is sorted, Gwen, I will destroy you.” The words had barely left his mouth when the massive TV screen on the wall flickered violently. Every major broadcast was interrupted by a national emergency alert. The anchor’s face was bloodless, her voice trembling: “We have an emergency update from the State Weather Service. Due to unprecedented, catastrophic rainfall upstream, the projected flood crest has arrived early!” “The Canyon Lake Dam is showing severe structural failure!” “An evacuation order is now in effect for all downstream residents! Leave your homes immediately!” Boom. Todd’s world shattered. The flood was here… early? The dam was failing. His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees on the cold floor. Even Gigi’s permanent mask of childish innocence finally cracked, revealing a deep, hollow terror.
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