Good luck, Vera Rodríguez Malin.
Lesley Altringham is the university’s director. And André—well, I’ve already said who André is. Hidden between the money was a bigger envelope. My hands shook as I fumbled with it, ripping the seal with a jerk. I pulled out a slim stack of papers, my breath hitching in my throat.
The envelope held two files. The first one, my academic records, displayed straight A’s across the board, but the other file was much different. Unmarked courses, low grades, failures. After a moment of confusion, the meaning hit me.
“What is this?” Gina had managed to peek over my shoulder and now looked at the papers with a furrowed brow.
“A threat,” I whispered, the words feeling heavy in my mouth. I was the assistant to the lawyer of one of the best document falsifiers in the country. And now someone was using that against me.
She snatched the documents from me and examined them.
“No… I don’t understand.” Her face said otherwise. She just wanted a coherent explanation for something that was very clear, and somehow, still made little to no sense. “What does this mean, Vera?”
I gave her the only explanation I had. “Someone is trying to blackmail me,” I said, holding up the second document. “This one is fake. Look.”
“Ugh.” Gina squinted at the paper, holding it so close to her glasses that she almost pressed them down into her nose. “This is a very good job, Vera. I would have never known it was fake.”
I stuffed the papers into my purse, glancing at the clock. I had no time for this; André would be livid if I were late on the last day before my big trial. As Gina continued her barrage of questions—What’s going on? What does the note mean? Do you know, Vera?—I dressed as quickly as I could.
“All I know is that someone has falsified my academic records and is threatening to spread the lie around. If Lesley Altringham or André sees it, even if it’s fake, they’ll have no choice but to open an investigation. I’ll be suspended from work. My career will be over.”
Gina sighed. “But it’s fake. Can’t you sue whoever is doing this?”
I thought about it, then shook my head. “I can’t sue someone if I don’t know who they are, Gina.”
Gina stood in the doorway, blocking my exit. “Then whyare you going to work?”
She had a point. But I couldn’t give in to panic and drop everything just because someone was trying to blackmail me. First, I needed some time to finish work, reflect on my options, and then, maybe, give in to panic.
“Because I have no choice.” She folded her arms across her chest.
“You’re saying we should just spend a million pounds this weekend?”
I couldn’t afford to lose everything I had worked so hard to achieve. Not for such a stupid reason. “We have to spend that money,” I cut her off.
I broke the zipper on my boots. Damn it. I chose a similar pair.
“I know.” Gina sprawled on my bed, propped up on her elbows, her gaze tracking my every move. “Maybe it’s a game,” she suggested, her tone half-serious, half-amused. I raced around the room, trying to make myself presentable, my eyes darting between the clock and my reflection.
“A game?” I said, trying not to mess up my lipstick as I spoke.
“Yeah. Someone’s making you participate in a sinister game against your will. You know, like Saw, but way less bloody.”
“I don’t want to play a part in any weird games.”
“Well, you’ll have to, right? Grab one of those stacks of money and take it with you.”
Ugh. I let out a sigh.
“How am I supposed to spend that much money in so little time?” I asked, frustration creeping into my voice.
Gina raised her hands as if the answer were in the air and she could pluck it out with her fingers. “Drugs. That’s it.”
I snorted out a laugh. Gina has always been the only person who can make me laugh, no matter the situation.
“Are you joking?”
“It’s the fastest way to get it done!”
