Chapter 20

Skai’s POV

“I don't know how it got there. I don't know anything about it," but my pleas fell on the wrong ears. I didn't check the bookshelf.

They were not ready to listen. What options are left when the suspect is caught with irrefutable proof? Then, the suspect becomes the culprit.

“You need to follow us to the CEO's office, ma'am." They waited and closed the door behind us as they led me out like a criminal going to court for a hearing.

I stared at my hands as I walked, imagining handcuffs on me. That was the only thing that distinguished me from a criminal. The sound of their boots filled my ears, and I couldn't think about anything.

The door opened, and that was when my attention snapped back to the present. The CEO's office was like a museum exhibit. Everything was in its place. The desk was made of glass, and there was no paper or clutter to be seen. The doors were adorned with diplomas and awards, and the shelves were lined with books on business strategy. Awards bagged with fraud.

An itch started under my skin and spread along my hands. My breathing deepened, and my steps were forced. My palms became sweaty as I stood staring at the tiles.

He looked at me from head to toe, “Is she the one?” Maybe he has finally done his investigation, and it concluded I wasn't Skai.

“Yes, sir, we found the documents in Miss Sophia's office.”

Tillard Collin was in his chair looking fierce. “How dare you steal the company’s financial statement? He banged his hand on the desk as I shook; his voice roared in the room, scaring the guts out of me.

“Are you planning on stealing the company’s assets?” He stood up, moving close, giving me murderous glares. I couldn’t be more wrong, but he seemed like he wished he had a knife to slice my chest open and rip out my heart. The two security guards are still there; even if he wanted to, who would stop him?

“Come on, face me and talk.” My tongue twisted, and I couldn't say anything. That was one of the times I couldn't help myself out of a tight situation. How I wished my office had a surveillance camera.

“How did you get access to my office and where the company’s financial statement is?” I didn't even know this company had something like that.

“I-I-I don't know anything about it, sir," I stammered. The ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ file in Carlo’s office. But this document was a different one.

“You're testing my patience,” he fumed, pacing around the office, clenching his fist as if it quenched his anger. I got my glimpse of the true Tillard.

Then, the door opened, and Carlo entered.

“Where's Giovanni?” He asked him as if he was waiting for his final decision to throw me into extinction.

“He had an urgent meeting.” Thank goodness. He would have flung me out and ordered that I never come back.

“What’s wrong? Sophia, what are you doing here?' he said, raising up my head.

“She stole the company’s financial statement we were searching for, and I've been asking her how she got access to it. You know the consequences."

“I know”, he nodded.

“Talk to me." He faced me.

I gathered my lost voice. “I don't know anything about it. My office was opened when I entered this morning, and I didn't know who it was or what happened. Until the securities came this afternoon.” I didn't talk about the paper I found in the office. They'd ask why I didn't report. I couldn't talk for long; the more I talked, the angrier Tillard got.

“Why didn't you report?” Carlo asked.

“I didn't find anything different in my office; the files on my table were just scattered.”

“Imagine the cooked-up lie. In fact, you're fired,” he growled. My heart sank. This is the end.

“Calm down, Uncle; let's sort this out,” he said calmly as Tillard settled in his chair; that was the word he needed.

“The document is found; we have to discover what happened.”

“It’s glaring; she stole it,” he said, pointing at me as I bowed my head.

“Go check the surveillance camera footage in the corridor this morning,” he ordered the security men.

They say it doesn’t take long for your life to be flipped upside down. A moment. A second. And it’s all over.

The security men went and came back after a few minutes.

“Sir, the camera was tampered with from 8:15 to 10:02; the footage looked strange and blurry. I think someone intentionally glitched the feed,” he reported.

What do you do when your only evidence is destroyed? The thought that I refused to think of started to make sense.

“You see, she tampered with the cameras – such a skilful criminal.” Ohh, pot calling kettle black.

"There's something suspicious. Let's get to the root of this," he said, sitting on the edge of the table with his legs apart, staring at me.

“I’ll be generous and give you the right. Either you prove yourself wrong, or you get fired. You have three days. If you don’t find out who really did this ,” he continued, voice like ice, “I’ll assume you’re the threat we’ve been trying to weed out.”

The fire in his eyes sealed my doomed fate.

Carlo didn’t say any more words, but his eyes lingered on me as I turned to leave.

3 days and nights to maintain my stance. 72 hours to prove my innocence. Things are a mess.

Carlo was my angel.

I looked at my wristwatch; time seemed to have gone without me noticing.

How else would you get to live a thousand lives in the span of one?

As I was returning to my office, head down, I saw Amelia.

The corners of her lips pulled into a crescent moon shape. So thin. So fragile. With pearly whites peeking in between. It stretched so wide that I thought it would reach her ears.