Chapter 6

I brought my right knee up and kicked her hard in the stomach.

"Ugh!"

Elena gasped, losing her strength instantly, and rolled off me onto the floor.

I quickly slid the shipping receipt into my pants pocket.

I grabbed my phone, turned on the flashlight, and pointed the bright beam directly at Elena’s face.

She was curled up on the floor, clutching her stomach, her face twisted in pain. Gone was her usual elegant, polished manager look.

The powerful beam of a security guard's flashlight swept into the store from the entrance.

"Why is it dark in here? Is everyone okay?"

The two uniformed guards hurried in.

Lara, trembling in the corner, finally found the breaker and flipped the switch back up.

The bright store lights flooded the room.

The moment Elena saw the guards, her face transformed.

She scrambled up, covering her face, and burst into tears.

"Officers, thank God you're here! She's the one who won't let us go home! She's forcing us to break the door!"

"I told her we could do it tomorrow, but she attacked me, stole my personal documents, and beat up an injured person!"

The two guards hesitated, looking at me.

I didn't even spare Elena a glance. I walked straight to the vault door and pointed at the jammed lock.

"The security camera is right above us. We can check who attacked whom tomorrow."

"Right now, please breach this door."

Elena shrieked, "Don't you dare! This is an internal store matter! Mall security has no right to interfere!"

She threw herself in front of the guards. "This door costs $5,000! It's company property! If you touch it, you'll be paying for the damages!"

The guards looked uneasy, holding their tools awkwardly.

"Uh... Assistant Manager, if the Store Manager doesn't consent, we really can't just destroy the door. Maybe you guys should sort this out internally?"

Lara and Vicky were scared out of their wits by the intensity of the fight.

But with outsiders present, they just wanted to sweep it under the rug.

"Chloe, just drop it. If this gets out, we're all going to lose our jobs."

"Exactly, calling security to smash a door over nothing... How is the Chanel boutique next door going to look at us?"

Seeing the guards hesitate, a smug smirk crept onto Elena’s face.

"Chloe, since you love company rules so much, I'm calling our Regional Manager, Mr. Davis, right now."

"Let's see what he has to say about your little stunt!"

She dialed the number and put it on speaker.

After three rings, a sleepy, annoyed voice answered.

"Hello? What is it at this hour?"

Elena began to sob, her voice dripping with fake helplessness. "Mr. Davis, I am so sorry to wake you."

"It's Chloe. She's accusing me of stealing inventory. She actually called mall security and is trying to smash open our vault door right now."

"Please talk to her. If word of this gets out, it will ruin our brand's reputation!"