02
Some relatives were murmuring sympathetically to Rachel.
“Maybe I had her all wrong,” Rachel admitted, visibly moved.
I watched Maggie as she put on her act. This was the same sweet expression she wore when she sent me to my death
before.
“I entrusted the debit card and phone to the person I trust most,” Maggie announced with an air of sincerity.
She then looked at me. “Lina, could you bring them over?”
I walked towards her, aware of her scrutinizing gaze. She was like a hunter watching their prey walk into a trap.
Maggie took the phone and debit card, projecting the phone screen onto the large display.
Opening the banking app, she entered the card’s password. As she typed in the final digit, there was a collective gasp from
the audience.
“What’s going on?”
“Isn’t this the right card?”
The big screen showed a glaring figure: [$0.00.]
Rachel was glued to the screen, staring at the number.
Vincent and Miranda stood up, their expressions darkening.
Being through this once before, I saw through their feigned disbelief.
It took Maggie a moment to grasp what was happening. She looked from the screen to me in shock and supposed sorrow.
With the audience’s attention locked on her, they naturally followed her gaze to me, and whispers started to ripple through the
crowd.
“Could she have taken her cousin’s gift money?” The murmurs were accompanied by condemning stares, some openly disdainful, others more discreet.
“No way, Lina wouldn’t do that. I must have grabbed the wrong card,” Maggie hurriedly defended me, yet she had no explanation for the missing money.
Her half–hearted defense only fueled the crowd’s suspicion.
“I bet it was that girl who transferred the money,” a man accused loudly, pointing at me.
I remembered him; in my last life, he slapped me when I tried to defend myself and call the police.
“You ever heard of a thief calling the cops on themselves? Absolutely shameless.” He had spat on me then.
He seemed like a plant Maggie might have hired. No one else was as frantic as he was.
“I didn’t take it,” I stated plainly.
He sneered, saying, “If you’re so innocent, let’s check your phone for any mysterious deposits since the money disappeared while it was with you.”
He reached towards me to grab my phone. It seemed he was just a busybody, after all. I caught his fingers and twisted them sharply.
“Ouch!” His shriek was music to my ears.
Though I wouldn’t stoop to spitting, I could still let him feel some consequence. I emptied a glass of cold beer over his head. “You think you can accuse me and I’ll just let you? How about you produce some evidence first, huh? Ever heard of Innocent until proven guilty? Even Maggie hasn’t blamed me, so without proof, it’s just slander! Besides, I didn’t even know the card’s password.”
