Chapter 8 - THEY TRIED TO REMOVE THE ONLY HONEST PERSON
The next day, Clara didn't come to work.
That wasn't normal.
Not once in three years had she missed a day without telling me.
I called her.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
A bad feeling grew inside me.
"Marcus."
He looked up.
"Find her."
Twenty minutes later, his phone rang.
His face changed.
"Alexander..."
"What?"
"We found her."
My heart tightened.
"Where?"
"At the old apartment building where she lives."
I grabbed my jacket.
Marcus looked at me.
"Are you sure you want to go?"
I looked at him.
"She was there when everyone else abandoned me."
I walked toward the door.
"Now I'm going to be there for her."
When we arrived, Clara was sitting on the stairs outside her apartment.
Her face was pale.
She looked exhausted.
"Clara."
She looked up.
Immediately, tears filled her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
I walked closer.
"What happened?"
She shook her head.
"I got fired."
I froze.
"By who?"
"Vanessa."
Of course.
"She said I stole something."
"What?"
Clara laughed bitterly.
"Nothing."
She looked down.
"She just needed an excuse."
I helped her stand.
"Clara, listen to me."
She looked at me.
"You did nothing wrong."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I knew helping you would put me in danger."
"Then why did you do it?"
She looked at me.
"Because you were alone."
Those words hit harder than anything Vanessa had said.
Because they were simple.
Because they were real.
That night, I made a decision.
No more hiding.
No more waiting.
It was time to fight.
But before I could act...
Marcus discovered something.
A transfer.
Someone had moved money from my private account.
I looked at the document.
The signature belonged to me.
But I never signed it.
Someone had forged my name.
And the person who approved the transaction...
May you like
was my own bank manager.
TO BE CONTINUED...
