bChapter /bb459 /b

    A knocking sound came from outside the door..

    “Come in.” Jessica looked up from herputer as Sana pushed the door open, carrying a stack of files.

    “Jessica, here are all the sry and bonus records for Madeline over the years that you asked me topile,” Sana said, cing the documents on the desk.

    Jessica took the files and quickly flipped through them. Just as she’d suspected, the numbers were exactly what she’d expected. In fact, some months showed amounts that were significantly higher than double a normal sry.

    Jessica figured Brian must have personally added all those extra benefits just for her. He’d always been protective of her that way

    “Good job. Send this to all the friends she owes money to, one by one. They deserve to know what they’re dealing with,” Jessica said calmly.

    Madeline clearly hadn’t learned her lesson fromst time, but that was fine. Jessica didn’t mind teaching her another one.

    “You got it!” Sana had been dying to do exactly this. Ever since she’d found out Madeline was still harassing Jessica, she’d been itching to take her down. The only thing holding her back was that Jessica hadn’t given the green light yet.

    Finally, Jessica was ready to deal with her.

    “I’m on it right now, Jessica. I’ll make sure we don’t miss a single person she owes money to.” Sana was practically bouncing with excitement.

    Jessica couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “Perfect. I’ll be waiting for the good news. And when you’re done, don’t forget to pick your two- thousand–dor bonus from ounting. All that data collection was a lot of work.”

    Jessica always believed in fair rewards and consequences. When she asked her staff to handle personal matters, she made sure topensate properly. No one would be willing to work for free, after all.

    Sana didn’t bother with false modesty. She thanked Jessica and hurried off with the files in hand.

    That same evening, Madeline had just finished sending Jessica a photo of the same food Brian had bought her a few days earlier–she’d found the exact dish online.

    Madeline was savoring the thought of Jessica’s ugly expression when she saw the message, when suddenly her phone rang. It was a friend she hadn’t heard from in ages.

    Madeline didn’t think much of it when she saw Lily’s name on her phone. She assumed her friend just wanted to hang out andpletely forgot about the money she owed. She casually picked up the call.

    “Hey Lily! What’s up? It’s been forever since you called. Are you nning something fun?” Madeline smiled.

    But the next second, Lily’s cold voice came through the phone. “Actually, Maddie, do you remember that 30 thousand dors you borrowed from me a year ago? I’m going through some tough times right now, and I really need you to pay me back.”

    The moment Madeline realized this was about money, her smile vanished instantly. She pinched her throat and when she spoke again, her voice was thick with fake tears and self–pity.

    Madeline spoke tearfully, “Of course I remember! We’ve been friends for so long–how could I forget? Lily, I’ve been wanting to pay you back this whole time, but I’mpletely broke right now.

    “I got fired a few months ago and I still haven’t found a decent job. I’m so down on my luck that I’m living in a basement now. Please just give me a little more time, okay? The second I get some money, I’ll pay you back immediately.”

    Madeline was confident that her sob story would work like it had before. But the moment she finished talking, Lily’s tone went from cold to furious.

    b15:35 /bbSat/b, b23 /bbAug /b

    “Stop lying! Don’t you dare try to y poor with me. You’ve made hundreds of thousands over the years.

    “Even if you really did lose your job, there’s no way you could have blown through all that money so quickly, You just don’t want to pay bme /bbback/bb, /bLily snorted coldly.

    Madeline’s nails dug into the pillow she was clutching. ‘How does Lily know about my ie?‘ she thought frantically. Who told her? And bwhat /belse does she know?‘

    While Madeline’s mind was racing, Lily unleashed a furious tirade on the other end of the phone. When she got no response, she assumed Madeline bwas /bdetermined to y dead, which only made her angrier.

    bAD /b