Reborn: Where Did the Money Go?

Right before the long holiday weekend, the boss announced that everyone in the tech department would receive a $1, 000 bonus for working two extra days. Linda Miller, the administrative supervisor, handed the task over to me and told me to process the payments according to the employee list. I carefully checked every account number. Then checked them again. I worked until nearly midnight before I finally finished. But the next morning, people from the tech department stormed into the office. “You said we'd get a thousand dollars. Why did I only get a hundred?” “I've worked in tech for ten years, and this is what I get for giving up two days of my holiday? A hundred bucks?” “Who pocketed the rest?” “Nora Quinn! Get out here and explain yourself!” I froze. “That can't be right. I sent one thousand dollars to every single person. I checked everything three times!” I hurriedly opened the company laptop to prove it. Then my blood ran cold. The payment records showed that every employee had received only one hundred dollars. Linda sighed beside me. “Nora, I gave you a hundred thousand dollars to distribute. How could you be this greedy? “You even dared to skim money the boss personally approved? “Give it back. Now.” But I hadn't taken a cent. How was I supposed to return money I'd never touched? The boss called the police. I was convicted of embezzling company funds and sentenced to three years in prison. Inside, I was bullied relentlessly. One beating left me with three broken ribs and internal bleeding. I didn't make it through the night. But when I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I was supposed to make those payments. Chapter 1 Before I'd even recovered from the shock of being reborn, Linda Miller slid a flash drive across the desk toward me with a warm smile. “Nora, the tech department worked two extra days this time. Everyone gets a one-thousand-dollar overtime bonus. The employee list and bank details are all on here. Double-check everything and send the payments out today.” I stared at the flash drive. Cold sweat instantly broke out across my back. In my previous life, those exact words had sent me to prison. I pushed the flash drive back toward her and forced a smile. “Linda, I'm still on probation. I don't think I should be handling this much money. Maybe it'd be better to give it to someone else.” The smile on Linda's face faded. “Nora, the whole reason I'm giving this to you is because you're still on probation. Think of it as a test.” She leaned back in her chair, her tone casual. “Do a good job, and getting officially hired won't be a problem.” “But I...” “I'm leaving on a business trip tomorrow,” Linda cut in. “My flight's already booked. You're the only one who can handle this.” She stood, walked over, and patted me on the shoulder. “I trust you. Don't let me down.” Trust. In my previous life, that one word had been enough to push me straight into the trap. “Linda, I really don't think I can do this. What if something goes wrong?” “Nora.” Her voice turned cold. “If you can't even handle something this simple, do you still want this job?” I opened my mouth. She stared at me, her gaze sharp as a knife. “And if you quit now, don't forget the repayment clause in your contract. Think carefully about whether you can afford that.” My fists tightened. I'd joined the company straight out of college and signed a six-year contract. Leaving early meant paying a thirty-thousand-dollar penalty. I had no choice. “Fine. I'll do it.” Linda smiled again and pressed the flash drive into my hand. “That's more like it. There are a hundred employees. One thousand dollars each. One hundred thousand total. “Once you're done, send me screenshots of all the payment confirmations.” She picked up her bag and headed for the door. Just before leaving, she glanced back at me. “Oh, and before you make any transfers, confirm the account balance with Finance.” The door closed. I sat frozen in my chair, chilled to the bone. In my previous life, one hundred thousand dollars had definitely left the company account. But every employee had received only one hundred dollars. That meant the rest of the money had simply vanished. No one believed me. No one helped me. And I died in prison before I ever saw another sunrise. Chapter 2 This time, I couldn't make the same mistake again. But what was I supposed to do? While I was still thinking, the office door opened. Mike Chandler from Facilities poked his head inside. “Nora, there were some reports of payment issues on this batch of computers last time. The company decided to replace them all. We're swapping yours out now.” Two movers stood behind him carrying a brand-new desktop computer. I blinked. A new computer? Mike directed them as they unplugged my old machine and carried it away. Then they set up the new one. The moment they plugged it in, the screen lit up. “Everything's already installed. You can use it right away.” They came quickly and left just as fast. Soon, I was alone in the office again. I stared at the new computer, my heart pounding. Could the computer have been the problem in my previous life? I plugged in the flash drive and opened the employee list. One hundred names. One hundred bank accounts. I checked them one by one. Names. Account numbers. Banks. Everything matched. Then I called Finance. “Rachel, Linda asked me to process the tech department's overtime bonuses. I just want to confirm the account balance first.” “Give me a second.” A few moments later, she came back on the line. “The company account has enough funds. You're good to go.” I hung up and took a deep breath. Then I logged into the company's online banking system and entered the first transfer. Recipient: Jake Hall. Amount: $1, 000. I clicked Confirm. Then I pulled out my phone, started recording, and aimed the camera directly at the computer screen. “It's November 27th, 2:07 p.m. I'm starting the payments now.” I recorded the entire process. With every transfer, I read the details aloud. “Payment one. Jake Hall. One thousand dollars. “Payment two. Daniel Leedon. One thousand dollars...” One hundred transfers. Exactly one hundred thousand dollars. After sending the final payment, I logged out of the banking system. Then I logged back in and pulled up the transaction history. I took screenshots of every single transfer. I also downloaded the bank receipts, saved them to the flash drive, and uploaded copies to my personal cloud storage. By the time I finished, it was one in the morning. I shut down the computer. Then I opened my phone and reviewed the recording and screenshots one more time. Every single payment showed one thousand dollars. I finally let out a breath of relief. This time, nothing could go wrong. — Early the next morning, my phone started vibrating nonstop beside me. I thought it was my alarm. But when I picked it up, I saw so many unread messages that I couldn't even count them. “You said we'd get one thousand dollars. Why did I only receive one hundred?” “Same here. One hundred dollars!” “I barely slept for two days, and this is all we get?” “What the hell is going on? Someone from Admin better explain this!” I stared at the screen. My fingers went ice-cold. Before I could even process what I was seeing, another message popped up. Linda had tagged me in the tech department's group chat. “Nora, I put you in charge of this. What happened?” That one message lit the fuse. The group exploded. “@Nora Quinn, explain yourself!” “Where's the money?” “What happened to the rest of it?” I didn't have time to think. I threw on a jacket and rushed to the office. By the time I reached the door, people from the tech department were already blocking the entrance. Jake was at the front, with more than a dozen furious employees behind him. “Nora Quinn! Get out here!” He slammed his phone down on my desk. “You said we'd get one thousand dollars. Why did I only receive one hundred? “I've worked in tech for ten years. I gave up two full days for this company, and all I get is one hundred bucks? “Who pocketed the rest? “Nora, you better explain this!” Chapter 3 I stood up, my voice trembling. “That’s impossible. I sent one thousand dollars to every single person!” Jake gave a cold laugh and shoved his phone toward my face. “Then look for yourself.” The bank notification on his screen read: Deposit received: $100.00. More than a dozen people behind him immediately pulled out their phones. “Same here. Thirty.” “Mine too.” Linda stood off to the side with her arms crossed. “Nora, I told you very clearly what needed to be done last night. You couldn’t even handle something this simple.” “Linda, I sent one thousand dollars! I checked everything three times!” “Then explain why everyone only received one hundred.” I opened my mouth, then turned back to the computer and logged into the company’s online banking account. The page loaded. The company account showed a batch transfer of exactly one hundred thousand dollars on November 27th. But when I scrolled down to the individual transactions, I froze. Every payment to the tech department showed one hundred dollars. One hundred employees. Three thousand dollars total. I stared at the screen, my head buzzing. Thirty thousand dollars had left the company account. But only three thousand had reached the employees. Ninety thousand dollars had somehow vanished inside the system. “What the hell is going on...” “You’re still pretending?” Jake grabbed me by the collar. “Where’s the money?” “I really sent one thousand dollars! I recorded everything!” I yanked out my phone and pulled up the video from the night before. On-screen, my own voice said, “Jake Hall, one thousand dollars.” Then the camera moved over the confirmation page. The amount was perfectly clear. $1, 000. “You see? I really sent it!” Linda glanced at the video. For a split second, her expression changed. Then her face hardened again. “How do we know you didn’t fake that with AI?” She gave a cold laugh. “AI can generate practically anything now. Making a fake video isn’t exactly difficult.” “I didn’t fake anything!” “Then explain the bank records.” Linda pointed at the computer. I stared at the screen, unable to speak. The video showed one thousand. The banking records showed one thousand. They directly contradicted each other. And everyone trusted the bank. “Nora, I really misjudged you.” Jake shook his head. “Thirty thousand turns into three thousand, and twenty-seven thousand disappears. You pocketed the difference and now you’re trying to lie your way out of it?” Linda spoke up too. “Nora, give back the twenty-seven thousand dollars.” “I didn’t take it! I’ve never even seen that money!” Linda looked at me with utter disappointment. “I always thought you were honest. “I had no idea you were this bold. “Give the money back now and maybe we can still handle this internally.” My entire body was shaking. Ninety thousand dollars. Where was I supposed to get twenty-seven thousand dollars? I hadn’t even been working for a full year. The only family I had was my grandmother, and she was bedridden. There was no way I could come up with that kind of money. The office doorway was packed with people. Every single one of them was staring at me. Suspicion. Disgust. Schadenfreude. Exactly like in my previous life. I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. “What’s all this noise?” A voice suddenly came from the doorway. The boss, Mr. Carter, had arrived. He was dressed in a suit, his expression dark. “Mr. Carter, perfect timing.” Linda hurried over to him, looking both anxious and aggrieved. “I put Nora in charge of distributing the tech department’s overtime bonuses. “The approved budget was one hundred thousand dollars, but she only sent out three thousand. “The remaining money is missing.” Mr. Carter looked at me. His gaze was ice-cold. “Nora, what do you have to say for yourself?” “Mr. Carter, I sent the full one hundred thousand.” I quickly held out my phone. “This is the video I recorded last night. Every single payment was one thousand dollars.” Chapter 4 Mr. Carter took my phone and watched the video for more than ten seconds. Then he handed it back. He didn't say whether he believed me. “Let's go to the bank.” A whole group of us headed there together. The teller pulled up the company's transaction history. The records on the screen were perfectly clear. “On November 27th, the company account made a batch transfer totaling one hundred thousand dollars to one hundred employees in the tech department.” Jake immediately spoke up. “But together, we only received three thousand. Where did the other twenty-seven thousand go?” The teller scrolled down. “There was another transfer from the company account on November 27th.” “How much?” “Ninety thousand dollars.” “Who was it sent to?” The teller looked at the screen. “Account holder: Nora Quinn.” My mind exploded. “That’s impossible!” The teller turned the screen toward us. There it was in black and white. Recipient: Nora Quinn. Amount: $27,000. “I never received that money!” Mr. Carter looked at me coldly. “Then check your account.” I immediately opened my mobile banking app. Balance: $3,450. “I only have thirty-four hundred and fifty dollars in here! That's my own money!” Linda sighed beside me. “Nora, you transferred twenty-seven thousand dollars to yourself, and now you're saying you never got it?” “I really didn't!” Mr. Carter's expression grew darker. “Check her transaction history.” The teller worked for a moment, then looked up. “The account Ms. Quinn just showed us has no deposit of twenty-seven thousand dollars.” Linda's expression changed. “How is that possible? The company account clearly shows the money was sent.” The teller checked again. “The company account definitely shows an outgoing transfer of twenty-seven thousand dollars, and the listed recipient is Nora Quinn. “But there is no matching incoming transaction in the account she just showed us.” “Then where did the money go?” The teller hesitated. “The system shows the transfer as successful, but there's no record of the funds reaching the recipient's account.” The air around us seemed to freeze. Mr. Carter frowned. “What does that mean?” “It means...” The teller hesitated again. “The money seems to have disappeared during the transfer.” “Disappeared?” Mr. Carter's voice rose. “How does money just disappear?” “The system says the transfer was successful, but the recipient never received it. I've worked in banking for ten years, and I've never seen anything like this.” Linda suddenly spoke. “Nora, did you do something to manipulate the transfer?” I whipped my head toward her. “What could I possibly do? I don't even know how to hack an online banking system!” “Maybe she hired someone who does.” Linda pointed at me and gave a cold snort. “How else could the money just vanish?” The others looked at me with suspicion too. They'd already decided I was the one who had taken it. Mr. Carter stared at me and spoke slowly. “Nora, I don't care where the money went. “You handled the transfers. “And the bank records show your name. “This happened because of you.” He paused. “You'll cover the missing twenty-seven thousand first. “Every cent. “If you can't come up with it, the company will have no choice but to call the police.” There was no room for negotiation in his voice. “Ninety thousand dollars in company funds went missing under your watch. “You need to think very carefully about what happens next.” My knees gave out. I sank to the floor. It was exactly the same as my previous life. They had never figured out where the money went. The only thing the bank records showed was that it had been transferred to me. I could say a hundred times that I hadn't taken it. No one believed me. And in the end, I'd died in prison before morning ever came. “Nora.” Mr. Carter's voice sounded again. “I'll ask you one last time. “Can you cover the money first?” I bit my lip until it turned white. “I didn't take it.” My voice shook. “So what am I supposed to pay back?” Chapter 5 “Then call the police.” Mr. Carter picked up his phone. Just then, mine rang. It was Lucy Jackson from the front desk. The moment I answered, her tearful voice came through. “Nora, you need to come back right now! Your grandmother came to bring you lunch, and she overheard people from Tech saying you stole twenty-seven thousand dollars from the company. “She passed out! “We already called 911. Please hurry!” My head buzzed. It felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over me. Grandma's health was already so poor that she barely even went grocery shopping anymore. She'd been worried I wouldn't eat properly over the holiday weekend, so she'd ridden the bus for forty minutes just to bring me lunch. “My grandma passed out... I have to go to the hospital!” I turned toward the door. Linda immediately stepped in front of me. “You're not going anywhere.” She stared at me coldly. “How do we know you're not using this as an excuse to run? “Ninety thousand dollars is still missing under your name. If you leave, who's going to pay it back?” My throat tightened. “I already told you, I didn't take it!” “Then pay the money back first.” Linda held out her hand as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “You've still got over three thousand in your account, don't you? Transfer that back to the company first. “Then sign an IOU for the rest. “You can pay it off over time.” I looked at Mr. Carter. He stood off to the side, lips pressed into a thin line, staring somewhere else. He said nothing. He didn't stop her. At that moment, it felt like something inside my chest was being torn apart. My grandmother was in the hospital. And all they cared about was the company's money. “Mr. Carter.” My voice shook uncontrollably. “My grandmother needs money for the hospital. That three thousand dollars is everything I have saved. “I can sign an IOU. I won't run. “Please, just let me go to the hospital first.” Mr. Carter's brows shifted slightly. He opened his mouth as if he was about to speak. Then the bank teller suddenly looked up. Her voice cracked. “Mr. Carter, there's another transfer!” He frowned. “What transfer? “It just left the company account.” She stared at the screen. “The recipient is... Nora Quinn.” “How much?” The teller swallowed. Her eyes stayed fixed on the monitor. “One hundred and fifty thousand dollars.” The entire bank went silent. Every pair of eyes turned toward me like needles. Mr. Carter whipped around. His eyes were bloodshot. “Nora, what the hell did you do?” I was completely stunned. “I don't know! “My banking app still only shows thirty-four hundred and fifty dollars. Look!” I shoved my phone toward them. The page refreshed. Balance: $3,450. There was no hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Linda immediately shrieked, “She must have another bank account! “She keeps pretending to be pitiful because she wants us to feel sorry for her, then she'll take the money and disappear!” Jake shouted too. “Call the police! “Mr. Carter, call them now!” Mr. Carter's face was livid as he tapped his phone. “Hello, 911?” I collapsed onto the floor. Images from my previous life flashed through my mind. The prison bars. The damp walls. The kicks that had broken my ribs. The night I never survived. No. I couldn't go through that again. I forced myself to think. Where had the money gone? Thirty thousand dollars had left the company account. Tech had only received three thousand. Now another hundred and fifty thousand had disappeared. But none of it had entered my account. So where was the problem? The flash drive? The employee list? The banking system? The computer? Then, in a flash, one tiny detail slammed into my mind. I jerked my head up and shouted with everything I had, “I know where the money went!”