A few friendly colleagues congratulated me . " You earned it , Zoe . You were working insane hours and running all over town last mo- nth . I'm not even jealous . " 11 14 Chapter 1 Lillian's face turned the color of beet soup . She snatched the pay stub from my hand , her shriek nearly piercing my eardrums . " You made this much ? I only got two thousand ! " She quickly reined in her emotions , forcing a grotesque smile . " Zoe , since you made so much this month , you have to treat everyo- ne , right ? " I waved my hand magnanimously . " Sure . The new bistro downstairs is on me . Everyone's invited ... except for Miss Lillian , of course . I wouldn't dare . Who knows if you'd order a feast and try to sneak it home in your purse like you did at the last team dinner ? " Her composure finally shattered . She lunged at me again , ready to claw my eyes out . A few male coworkers stepped in , grabbing her arms as she thrashed , her furious glare locked on me . " This is my bonus you're flaunting ! " she roared . " You stepped on me to get it ! You took what was mine ! I don't care - either you treat me to dinner or you give me half of that bonus ! " The sheer audacity of it was almost impressive . laughed , a sharp , humorless sound . I opened my expense tracking app and turned the screen for everyone to see . " You want to talk about who owes who ? I've got a list . " " From last March until now , you've mooched 87 lunches , 53 coffees , and 21 shared cab rides off me . I'll round down for you . That comes to a grand total of twelve hundred dollars . You can transfer it to me now . " Gasps rippled through the onlookers as they saw the itemized list . The whispers started immediately . " She mooched that much ? What a parasite ! " " So when she told us Zoe was being cheap , she was just straight - up lying ? " " Wow , Zoe , you have the patience of a saint for putting up with her this long . " Lillian looked like a chicken being strangled . She stumbled backward , and under a chorus of hisses and boos , she fled into the rest- room , shooting me one last look of pure , undiluted hatred . 6 The next morning , all hell broke loose in front of our office building . A haggard - looking couple with faces like crumpled maps had Lillian cornered , shaking her by the arm and screaming . " You deadb- eat girl ! You promised to send five thousand a month ! Where is it ? " Lillian was a sobbing , sniffling mess . " I got docked this month ... I really don't have any money ... ' The woman collapsed onto the pavement , wailing . " Ungrateful child ! We would've been better off raising a pig ! You're going to quit this job right now and come back home to get married ! " Lillian clung to the company's front door like her life depended on it , a picture of such desperation that even the new interns looked away , embarrassed . Suddenly , she turned on her parents . " This is your fault ! It was your idea ! Why else would I have stolen someone's proposal ? Now my best friend won't even speak to me ! " she shrieked . " Everyone at work hates me ! Are you happy now ?! I'm not getting married ! This is all your fault ! " Then , her eyes found me in the crowd of onlookers , her expression shifting to one of undisguised pleading . A flicker of pity stirred in me . Lillian had often complained about her family , about growing up in a household that blatantly favored her brother . He got the best of everything , while she had to scheme and scrape for every penny of her own . Maybe she truly wanted to change , but the damage her parents had done was too deep , making it nearly impossible for her to form healthy relationships . Chapter 1 11 14 I hesitated , then stepped forward . " Sir , ma'am , if you don't stop this , we're going to have to call the police . " " This is a family matter ! Call them , see if we care ! " the man sneered , and to prove his point , he kicked Lillian hard in the shin . " You useless girl , if you get your father and me arrested , the first thing we'll do when we get out is kill you ! " Seeing me step in to defend her , Lillian's expression became a complicated mix of shame and hope . She started apologizing to me profusely while dodging their blows . Gritting my teeth , I took out my phone and terred half of my newly acquired bonus to her . " You want money , right ? Take it and go ! And stay away from her ! " The couple's demeanor changed instantly . They exchanged a greedy look , snatched the phone to check the transfer , and stalked away , still muttering under their breath that Lillian had better send the rest next month . The drama was finally over . As the crowd dispersed , Lillian threw herself into my arms , sobbing uncontrollably . " Zoe , you're too good to me ... I'm so , so sorry for everything ! " " I'll never take advantage of you again ! " " I swear , I'll pay you back ! " Chapter 2 Chapter 2 7714 7 Things were quiet between Lillian and me for a while . Everyone assumed we had reconciled , and they even praised me for my compassion . But only I knew the truth . While we were friendly on the surface , a knot of unease remained in my stomach . Could she really change ? The peace lasted less than a month . Soon , Lillian slipped back into her old habits , trying to mooch my lunch . When I refused and reminded her about the money she owed me , she went right back to her sob stories . " Payday is coming up , and my mom is already demanding more money . I don't even know how I'm going to afford food next month ... " I secretly decided I had to set a firm boundary . I might be a soft touch , but I wasn't going to be a doormat for life . That evening , Lillian left in a hurry , not only leaving her computer on but also forgetting to log out of her messaging app . The notifi- cation icon blinked insistently in the corner of her screen . I was the last one in the office . Overcome by curiosity , I clicked it open . Mom : That idiot Zoe is being cheap again ! Next time , you two need to come make a bigger scene . Scare her into giving up all her savings ! Lillian : You and Dad just have to get over being embarrassed . It's a genius plan ! Lillian : And next time , don't confront me . Go straight for Zoe . Harass her nonstop . I know where she lives ! Best if you can latch onto her for life ! Dad : Attagirl ! Your brother wants a new car . It'd be great if we could get that colleague of yours to cough up twenty or thirty grand all at once . My blood ran cold . I scrolled up , my heart pounding . The chat history was a detailed playbook , with Lillian coaching her parents on how to act pathetic , how to leech off of me , and even discussing a plan to splash red paint on my apartment door as a threat . She wasn't a victim of her family's oppression ; she was their willing co - conspirator . I felt like slapping myself . So much for my compassion . I'd invited a demon into my life . The twelve hundred she already owed me , plus the five hundred from my bonus ... she was into me for over seventeen hundred dollars . And if she had no intention of paying it back , then I would make her pay tenfold . I screenshotted the entire conversation and uploaded it to my personal cloud drive . Then , I reached down and flipped the switch on the power strip under her desk , cutting the power . A plan was already forming in my mind . The next day at work , Lillian rushed to her desk , looking anxious . " Zoe , " she whispered , " I forgot to shut down my computer yesterd- ay . You ... you didn't look at anything , did you ? " 8 I put on my most innocent face . " The power went out in the office after you left last night . Is there something on your computer you don't want me to see ? 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