On New Year's Eve, a message from my best friend, Lily Walton, popped up.

[I rented a Maybach for our cats to go back to our hometown. A thousand per person. It has heating and surveillance. Isn't that a great deal?]

I glanced at my banking app, where my mortgage had just been deducted.

[Forget it. My Mochi isn't a princess. She can't afford such an expensive ride.]

The next day, I got a selfie from her—hugging her pet cat inside a Maybach.

[Chloe, it's such a shame you didn't come. The owner was nice enough to give me a ride home too.]

On New Year's evening, right after I stepped through my front door, a frantic knock came at the door.

My best friend's parents stood outside, panic written all over their faces.

"Is Lily here? She hasn't come home at all. She said yesterday she was preparing a birthday gift for you and even took four thousand dollars from us."

Before I could even recover from the shock, the police arrived.

My best friend's last contact… was me.

I was just about to take a nap when another text came in from my bestie, Lily Walton.

Lily: [It's the New Year. Come on, we can't be stingy with our cats.]

Lily: [I'm using my bonus. Plus, I'm buying myself a new outfit. We women need to treat ourselves better.]

I didn't even finish reading the rest of her messages.

The number "1,000" alone jolted me awake.

I quickly typed back.

Me: [1,000?]

Lily: [Yeah. Our little cats are princes and princesses. Can you imagine them rolling up in a Maybach? The other cats would be so jealous.]

I stared at the screen, still unable to process what I was reading.

Even I, the cat's owner, had never ridden in a Maybach. And she wanted me to drop 1,000 just to send a cat home in one?

When I didn't respond, Lily immediately sent a voice message.

Lily: [What's your deal? I'm just looking out for you.]

I sighed and forwarded a screenshot of my boss's message from earlier that morning.

I wasn't being difficult.

The company wasn't doing well.

Layoffs were hanging over my head.

Thinking about that, I kept typing.

Me: [Lily, I might lose my job soon. I'm not in the same boat as you, with a fat year-end bonus just landing in your account.]

Me: [I'd love to go home with you, but I really can't afford to split the cost.]

Me: [And honestly, I'd feel bad just tagging along for free.]

The message bubble showed "typing…" for a long time.

Then Lily replied.

Lily: [I wish I could spot you, but my money's barely enough to cover the trip home and a new outfit.]

After I said I understood, she stopped answering.

That night, after working late, I got home.

Mochi let out a soft meow.

I scooped her into my arms.

"Mochi, my little princess, Mommy can't afford to send you home in a Maybach. You're gonna have to go by air freight instead. Sorry you have to deal with that, baby."

The kitten nuzzled against me, and my heart completely melted.

Air freight would cost a fraction of the price.

I'm not rich—why would I choose the most expensive way to get home?

Mochi is my baby. She'd understand.

I felt surprisingly relieved.

I'd just saved myself 1,000 bucks.

That was a whole month of my salary—gone without me eating or spending a cent.

Even in my dreams that night, I was happy.

That money hadn't been wasted.

…

Early the next morning, I dropped Mochi off for shipping and headed home myself.

On the high-speed train, I was already planning how to spend the money I had left—I'd buy gifts for my parents.

By the time I got there, dusk had already fallen.

The smell of my mom's cooking filled the house, and my dad took the gifts from my hands with a huge grin he couldn't hide.

Before I could even sit down to eat, there was a sudden loud, frantic banging on the door, like someone was trying to break it down.

When I opened it, Lily's mom was standing outside. Her eyes were red and scary, her hair all over the place.

"Where is Lily? Where is she?!"

I was completely confused.

"Mrs. Walton, I didn't come back with Lily…"

She shoved right past me, stormed inside, and started opening every door one by one.

"Lily, come out! Mom and Dad are here to bring you home!"

All she got back was silence.

I walked over slowly.

"Mrs. Walton, I think there's been a misunderstanding. I didn't travel back with Lily."

Lily's mother stared at me, unblinking.

"You're lying! Lily called me yesterday and said she was riding back with you. Now you're here—so where is she?"

I frowned.

"Mrs. Walton, you've got it wrong. I didn't come back with Lily."

Before I could finish, a sharp slap landed across my face.

"You're still lying. Did you do something to my daughter? Bring her out right now."

I pressed my tongue against the stinging numbness in my cheek.

Whatever good mood I'd brought home with me vanished in an instant.

My voice went cold.

"Believe me or not, I did not come back with Lily."

Then I unlocked my phone and showed her our chat history, along with my ticket home.

Her eyes locked onto the screen, and then her hands started shaking.

"That's impossible. She told me yesterday she was with you, that you two were traveling back together."

"She even asked me for four thousand dollars, said it was your birthday and she wanted to buy you a gift."

My heart skipped a beat.

I'd been furious about the slap, but seeing her reaction now, my anger faded.

She was only panicking because she cared so much about her daughter.

I quickly said, "Mrs. Walton, Lily and I really didn't come back together. She probably took a cab on her own and just got held up somewhere. Maybe her phone died. You should try reaching out to the ride-hailing app first."

At my words, Lily's mother's eyes turned red again.

She grabbed my hand, begging desperately.

"Chloe, you're Lily's best friend. Please, help me, okay?"

Her legs gave out as she tried to kneel.

Her forehead hit the edge of the coffee table with a dull thud.

"Don't do that," my mom and I said as we quickly pulled her back up.

"I'll check right now."

I immediately logged into the ride-hailing app Lily had used.

I remembered the photo she'd sent me before leaving, so I forwarded it to customer service.

The platform replied: no vehicle matching that information was ever registered.

Hearing that, Lily's mother completely lost it. Her face went deathly pale, and she fainted on the spot.

I quickly called 911.

A perfectly good New Year's celebration was ruined. No one was in the mood for anything anymore.

That night, I sat on the couch with my mom and told her everything that had happened.

My mom let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God you didn't take that car. Otherwise, I'd probably be in the hospital right now too."

I just furrowed my brow a little.

I still couldn't understand what Lily was trying to do.

Why was she so insistent that she'd traveled back with me?

Something about this didn't feel right.

My mom seemed to sense it too.

She took my hand.

"Chloe, are you absolutely sure you never agreed to ride back with her?"

I met her eyes—and a chill ran down my spine.

Lily paid for her own transportation. She was a grown adult.

So why was she using me as a cover?

I thought about it for a long time but still couldn't make sense of it.

My mom gently patted my head.

"If you can't figure it out, don't force it. This has nothing to do with you. You've been tired all day—go get some rest."

The next morning, I'd barely woken up when Lily's mom showed up again.

The second she saw me, her eyes turned red.

"Chloe, are you absolutely sure Lily wasn't with you?"

I frowned.

"Mrs. Walton, I've already told you this multiple times. I flew back on a plane. She left early with her cat in a car."

Before she could answer, a man standing next to her suddenly stepped forward. He stared at me coldly.

"I don't believe a word you're saying. You're Lily's only close friend. You live in the same city—how could you not travel back together? That chat log is fake. What did you do to her?"

His suspicious eyes bore into me.

At that moment, I almost laughed.

"Mr. Walton, you've already barged into our lives multiple times. I get it—you're Lily's parents. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stand here and be slandered. I've been clear. I did not come back with her. I have chat records. I have proof."

After I said that, Lily's parents suddenly dropped to their knees.

Both of them bowed toward me over and over, knocking their foreheads against the floor.

"Chloe, please... please tell us where Lily is. She's our only daughter. She's everything to us."

Their voices were loud and desperate. Neighbors started coming out of their homes, drawn by the noise.

Someone from the crowd spoke up.

"They're just worried about their daughter. You can't be that selfish."

"Exactly. If you know something, just tell them. Don't make them suffer like this."

"You grew up in this neighborhood. How did you turn out like this?"

I looked at Lily's parents kneeling on the ground and felt nothing but disbelief.

"How many times do I have to say it? I don't know where she is. I'm in the same boat as you."

Tears were streaming down Lily's mother's face.

"She even spent four thousand dollars buying you a gift. How could you hurt her?"

They were still stuck in their own version of the story, talking like their assumptions were facts.

For a moment, I didn't even know what to say.

I cleared my throat.

"First of all, that four thousand dollars has nothing to do with me. I didn't get a single cent. And I'll say this one last time—I don't know where she is. If you don't believe me, we can call the police."

The second those words left my mouth, two officers stepped out of the elevator.

They looked straight at me.

"Chloe Sanders, regarding Lily Walton's disappearance, we need you to cooperate with our investigation."

I frowned but still invited the two officers into my home.

Once seated on the couch, the older officer fixed me with a sharp look.

"Chloe, are you really telling me you have no idea where Lily is?"

I rolled my eyes internally, exhausted beyond words.

From yesterday until now, I'd been asked the same question over and over again.

I explained everything from start to finish.

I even showed them my phone records and my plane ticket home.

I genuinely didn't get it. All my records could be verified. So why was I still being treated like a suspect?

The two officers exchanged a glance.

"Chloe, according to our investigation, the Maybach involved was part of a scam. The owner's identity was fake. Aside from you, Lily didn't mention any of this to anyone else."

Their expressions were grim, and the way they looked at me was as if I were a suspect.

I met their gaze.

"So what? Just because I'm her friend, I automatically become a suspect?"

I let out a bitter laugh.

"Is this really how police work goes these days?"

The younger officer slapped his hand on the table.

"You're still trying to lie? We've already confirmed that around six p.m. yesterday, Lily called you—and you picked up. You say you don't know where she is, but she only contacted you after getting into that car. And you are the last person she spoke to."

Honestly, I didn't even know what to say anymore.

"Officers, I've told you everything I know. I really don't know where she is."

I went through the whole sequence again, not missing a single detail.

By the time I was completely drained, they finally let me go.

Before leaving, the older officer looked at me.

"Chloe, there's one thing I still don't understand. Around four o'clock, she called you. What did you talk about during that 58-second phone call?"

My hands, resting at my sides, clenched instinctively. Pushing down the panic rising in my chest, I tried to stay calm.

"Just... friend stuff. Complaining about traffic, talking about the cats."

I expected them to dig deeper.

Instead, they stood up.

"If you remember any details, contact us immediately."

My mind wandered, and I quickly nodded.

"Okay."

The door closed, and I collapsed onto the floor of the entryway, my hands still shaking.

They definitely didn't know about that, right?

They definitely didn't.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked me like that.

I forced myself to calm down.