Chapter 1

At 10:00 PM, the luxury boutique where I worked was finally closing.

Elena, the store manager, held up her right hand, which was wrapped in thick bandages. She slid the inventory sheet across the marble counter toward me.

"Chloe, I just checked the vault. Everything is accounted for."

"My wrist is sprained, and I can't even hold a pen. Just sign off on this for me so everyone can go home."

Around us, the other girls were already packing their bags, murmuring and urging me to hurry up.

I picked up the pen and was just about to sign my name.

Suddenly, bright neon text flashed right before my eyes:

[DON'T SIGN IT! She secretly sold 300 limited-edition bags from the vault! If you sign, you will take full responsibility for the missing $400,000 inventory!]

[The total value is nearly half a million dollars. You couldn't pay it back even if you sold your soul. You'll rot in prison!]

I froze, then dropped the pen onto the counter with a clack.

"Elena," I said coldly, "company protocol requires a double-blind inventory count. Everyone, put your bags down. I'm going to open the vault. We need to scan every single item again."

"Once everything is cleared, I'll sign."