The next morning, as soon as I arrived at the bank, I saw Alfie and Demi wailing uncontrollably at the entrance.

Alarmed, I rushed over to ask what had happened. That was when I found out that their bank card was still on them, but all the money inside had vanished.

The bizarre theft immediately caught the bank's attention.

Seeing how distraught they were, I handed them some warm water and patiently asked if anyone else had touched their card.

Alfie and Demi shook their heads firmly. They swore they had kept the card under their pillow the entire night. The doors and windows showed no signs of being tampered with, so there was no way it had been stolen.

Watching them break down in tears was heartbreaking. I immediately checked the bank system to find the withdrawal time and ATM location for them.

According to the logs, the money had indeed been taken out—little by little—last night. The thief drained the entire five million dollars from the account overnight, using multiple ATMs.

Alfie and Demi nearly collapsed upon hearing this. Feeling terrible for them, I begged my supervisor to pull the surveillance footage from each withdrawal location.

Faced with such a bizarre incident, everyone held their breath and stared intently at the screen.

But the person withdrawing all the money in the surveillance footage was me, Caitlin Howard.

A shiver ran down my spine as I recalled those eerie images. Snapping back to reality, I finally came to my senses.

Right now, that same elderly couple was sitting before me again, hesitating as they prepared to open their bag.

Panic surged through me. I immediately stopped them. "Wait! Are you here to make a deposit? How much?"

Their eyes welled with tears as they choked out their answer, "Five million dollars. This is our daughter's surgery money."

Their voices were barely above a whisper, but Madison, who had been watching them closely, rushed over excitedly.

"Five million dollars? You two look like you can't even afford dinner. Where the hell would you get five million dollars?"

Alfie and Demi lowered their heads. They wanted to explain, but I cut in before they could, "Madison, stop obsessing over other people's money and get back to your counter."

Madison's eyes widened in shock as she turned to me.

"Since when did you get so stingy, Caitlin? This is their money, not yours. Why can't I ask them questions?"

Something about her reaction didn't sit right with me.

In my previous life, the moment Madison heard "five million dollars", she had rushed over and bombarded Alfie and Demi with questions.

Even after I started processing their deposit, she hovered around, reluctant to leave.

When the money was stolen, she and my boyfriend, Evan Watson, were the first to accuse me.

Could she have peeked at the couple's PIN while I was handling the transaction?

I dismissed the thought immediately.

Tellers like us worked behind a glass partition, and customers stood on the other side. The PIN pad had a cover. There was no way Madison could have seen it from where she stood.

Even if she somehow guessed the PIN, she couldn't have stolen the card that had been hidden under their pillow all night.

Besides, the person caught on surveillance was undeniably me.

This matter shouldn't be that simple.

A million thoughts raced through my head. I stepped in front of Madison to block her view and turned to Alfie and Demi.

"This is a large deposit. Let's move to the VIP room."

They exchanged confused glances. Before they could move, Madison grew anxious.

"Are you out of your mind, Caitlin? What exactly makes them VIPs?"

I let out a tired sigh. Ignoring her protests, I led Alfie and Demi away.

Just to be safe, I requested my manager's presence as a witness, citing the high deposit amount.

Only when I handed them back their bank card—now holding their full five million dollars—did I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

This time, Madison hadn't been able to see a thing. There was no way she could have learned their PIN.

At least, that was what I told myself. Yet, the real mystery still loomed.

How had the thief gotten their card?

I wanted to suspect Madison, but no matter how I looked at it, she was just a normal person.

She was my colleague and my best friend. Sure, she loved to travel and have fun, but I had never heard of her having the kind of skills needed to pull off a theft like this.

Deep in thought, I absentmindedly made my way downstairs, only to misstep. My foot slipped. Before I knew it, I was tumbling down the staircase.

As my colleagues' startled cries filled the air and they helped me up, I caught a glimpse of Madison's back as she stepped out. She had already changed out of her uniform.

I had taken a nasty fall. My ankle was swelling badly.

But I barely felt the pain. My heart was pounding, and a deep sense of unease gripped every inch of my body.

Madison hadn't been anywhere near the VIP room. So why was she suddenly taking the rest of the day off?

There was no way she could have seen Alfie and Demi's PIN from thin air.

I forced myself to stand, trying to follow her, but the moment I put weight on my foot, a sharp pain nearly sent me collapsing again.

I could only watch helplessly as Madison disappeared from sight.

I was just about to curse under my breath when my phone rang.

It was my boyfriend, Evan Watson.

I didn't answer right away. Instead, memories from my previous life surfaced.

If I wasn't mistaken, last time, Evan had called me right after Madison left too.

He never used to care about what I was doing at work. Was he tracking my movements?

Suspicion tightened in my chest. I finally picked up, and Evan's voice came through the receiver.

"Caitlin, are you at the bank?"

In my previous life, I had mistaken this for concern. But now, hearing that same familiar question sent a chill down my spine.

I could be certain now. Evan was checking on my whereabouts.

Something was definitely going on between him and Madison.

My body trembled from the sheer weight of that realization. Before I could even respond, the bank's automated voice interrupted, calling out the next customer number.

Evan let out a quiet sigh of relief.

"I heard the announcement. You must be busy. I'll let you go, babe. See you tomorrow."

He said those last words so casually, but all I felt was a heavy stone sinking in my chest.

Had they still succeeded?

Even without seeing the PIN, could they still steal an innocent person's surgery money?

And if they could do that, was my fate sealed once again?

Questions swirled in my mind. I was standing in a bright, open lobby, yet it felt as suffocating as a coffin.

Willow Pollard, my manager who had been holding me up, noticed my pale face and gave my shoulder a firm pat.

"Your face is turning pale from the pain, Caitlin. You should go to the hospital. I have nothing else to do today. I can cover your shift."

Her offer made me hesitate.

If she took my shift, would she end up as my scapegoat?

Just as I was about to refuse, a sudden flicker of hope took hold in my heart.

Hospitals had security cameras everywhere. If I checked myself in and convinced Willow to stay with me overnight, we'd both have alibis.

At this thought, I let out a deep breath. I thanked Willow and immediately left for the hospital.

Just as I planned, I got admitted, and Willow stayed with me the entire night after much pleading from me.

However, the moment I reached the bank entrance the next day, I was met with the exact same scene as in my previous life.

Alfie and Demi stood there, sobbing uncontrollably. Their hands trembled as they held up their bank card.

"Why is my money gone? We just deposited five million dollars yesterday!"

"That was my daughter's surgery money! She's supposed to have the operation this afternoon! What are we supposed to do now?"

Their wails twisted a knife in my chest. I turned to look at Willow.

Without hesitation, she rushed forward to help them, asking what had happened.

But Alfie and Demi were crying so hard they could barely form coherent words. All they could do was repeat, over and over, that the money was gone. That their child was doomed.

By now, most of the bank staff had caught wind of the massive deposit from the day before. People were gathering, whispering amongst themselves.

Then, from the back of the crowd, Madison's voice rang out, "Why is everyone standing around? If the money's missing, just check who withdrew it!"

Everyone turned to look at her, and I took the opportunity to study her closely.

Dark circles hung under her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept all night.

She was the thief. I was sure of it.

But how? How had she stolen such a massive amount?

The bank president, George Stewart, arrived soon after and wasted no time pulling up the surveillance footage.

The moment the screen flickered on, Alfie and Demi fell silent, their sobs turning into shaky breaths.

Seeing a clue to follow, Alfie and Demi finally stopped crying and turned to the screen with everyone else.

The moment the thief's face became clear, every gaze instinctively shifted toward me.

A chilling numbness spread through my body, and I could no longer stop myself from trembling.

The thief was still me.

Just as everyone was reeling in shock, Evan strode over to Madison's side and snapped at me, "Caitlin, we trusted you, and you had the audacity to steal from clients? That was their daughter's life-saving money!

"I was wondering why you suddenly wanted to buy a car. Now it all makes sense!"

As soon as he said that, Madison chimed in, "Yeah, Caitlin! I thought you were my friend, but you turned out to be heartless enough to rob this poor couple! You're really shameless!

"You've always talked about how nice it would be if all the money in the bank belonged to you. I thought you were just kidding, but I never imagined you'd actually stoop to being a thief!

"Mr. and Mrs. Austin, don't worry! We'll make sure Caitlin pays for what she did!"

Alfie and Demi stared at me, eyes brimming with tears. They looked shocked but didn't immediately jump to blame me.

Of course. I was the only one who had stepped up to help them yesterday, yet overnight, I had somehow become the one who hurt them.

No one would know how to process something like that.

Seeing that neither of them made a move, Madison grew impatient and shoved them forward.

"What are you waiting for? The person who killed your daughter is standing right in front of you! Don't you want to avenge her?"

I let out a quiet sigh and met Madison's gaze head-on.

"The person in the security footage isn't me. I was at the hospital all night."

Upon hearing that, Madison and Evan both looked surprised.

"Stop lying! The footage is crystal clear. You're the one who stole the money!"

"Just because you said you were at the hospital doesn't mean it's a fact. Oh, I get it now. You must've gone to the hospital to fake an alibi, then snuck out to commit the crime!"

Hearing their furious shouting, I silently smiled.

"Too bad for you. I sprained my ankle yesterday. Ms. Pollard was worried and stayed with me the whole night. Why are you two freaking out? Unless… the person in the footage is actually one of you?"

Their shouting cut off instantly, and they exchanged uneasy glances.

Willow's gaze grew more probing, shifting back and forth between the three of us.

The silence stretched until, finally, her voice rang out clearly for everyone to hear.

"That's right. I stayed by Caitlin's side the entire night at the hospital. As the wife of the bank president, I can vouch for her. Caitlin never left my side, not once, throughout the night."