Chapter 4

Lucy' s professional smile faltered when she saw me, the briefcase, and the phone in my hand still streaming live.

"Gabrielle! Ethan! What a surprise," she said, her voice a little too high-pitched.

She hurried over, trying to block my path to the teller counter. "I' m so sorry, but our cash-counting system just went down for maintenance. You' ll have to come back tomorrow."

"That' s a shame," I said, not stopping. "I' ll just have the teller count it by hand. I' ve got time."

I walked right past her and placed the briefcase on the counter in front of a young teller who looked confused by the unfolding drama.

"I' d like to deposit this, please," I said.

The teller glanced nervously at Lucy, then at Ethan, who was standing by the door, looking like a trapped animal.

"Uh, of course, ma' am."

She opened the briefcase. On top were neat stacks of hundred-dollar bills. She pulled out the first stack, then the second. They looked and felt real.

But as she dug deeper, her expression changed. She pulled out a third stack. The bills underneath the top one were different. They had a strange sheen.

She held one up to the light. Printed in small letters along the side were the words: "FOR MOTION PICTURE USE ONLY."

It was all fake. Counterfeit movie prop money, with just a few real hundreds layered on top to complete the illusion.

The teller' s eyes went wide. She slammed her hand down on the silent alarm button under the counter.

A moment later, a deafening alarm started to blare through the credit union.

Ethan immediately pointed at me, his face a mask of shocked betrayal.

"She swapped the money!" he screamed, his voice cracking with manufactured hysteria. "I gave her the real cash! She must have switched it! She' s trying to frame me!"

Lucy, his co-conspirator and secret lover, rushed to his side, playing her part perfectly.

"He' s right!" she shouted at the security guard who was now approaching. "I saw him this morning! I' m a loan officer here! I personally handled his withdrawal. He took out one hundred thousand dollars in legitimate, circulated bills!"

The live stream comments flipped again in an instant.

"I KNEW IT! SHE' S A CRIMINAL!"

"She tried to frame him! That' s why she was acting so weird!"

"Arrest her! Throw her in jail!"

The doors burst open and two police officers rushed in, guns drawn. The perfect trap was sprung.

Just like last time.

But this time, I was ready.