"Ms. Calloway, please, I can explain," Elise stammered, stepping backward, terrified. "The market changed! I was modernizing the brand! I was protecting our image!"
"You were protecting your own greed," Margaret snapped. She turned to me. "Harper here makes twenty-two dollars an hour. She is a single mother. She was terrified of you. And yet, she risked her entire livelihood to defend a stranger. She understands the soul of this brand better than you ever will."
A wave of emotion hit me so hard I felt dizzy. I gripped the door handle to stay standing. Margaret knew about Maya. She knew my pay. She had looked into me.
"Now," Margaret said, turning her icy gaze back to Elise. "You are going to hand over your phone, your keys, and your corporate card. Tomorrow morning, at the board meeting, I am going to present this ledger to the audit team. You will be terminated, Elise. And then, I will hand you over to the authorities for embezzlement."
Elise stood in the dark, breathing heavily. For a long moment, she looked utterly defeated.
And then, she laughed.
It was a cold, jagged, desperate sound.
"No," Elise said, straightening her posture, a twisted smile forming on her face. "No, I don't think you will."
Elise reached into her pocket and pulled out a small black remote. She pressed a button.
Immediately, the blaring, deafening shriek of the building's emergency security alarm ripped through the room. Flashing strobe lights from the hallway bled through the crack under the door.
"What are you doing?" I yelled over the noise.
"You think you're the only one who plans ahead?" Elise shouted, her eyes wild. "I am not going to jail! And I am not losing my career because some senile ghost decided to play undercover boss!"
Elise lunged toward the heavy steel door, slamming her shoulder into me and knocking me hard against the wall. Pain flared in my arm. She punched the emergency override button, throwing the door open.
"Security!" Elise screamed at the top of her lungs, running into the hallway. "Help! We have intruders in the vault!"
Within seconds, the heavy footsteps of the private night security guards echoed down the corridor. Two large men in uniform rounded the corner, their flashlights blinding us.
"Hold them!" Elise shrieked, pointing at me. "They broke in! This disgruntled employee stole my keys and broke into the vault with an accomplice to steal the archival jewelry!"
"Elise, you're lying!" I screamed, stepping out into the hall.
One of the guards grabbed my arm roughly, pinning it behind my back. "Don't move," he barked.
"Grab the old woman!" Elise ordered the other guard. "She's the mastermind! She has the stolen ledger!"
The second guard rushed into the Archive Room, shining his light toward the leather armchair.
"Ma'am, step out where I can see you!" the guard shouted.
There was no answer.
The guard swept his flashlight across the room. "The room is empty," he called out, sounding confused.
"What?" Elise pushed past him into the room. "She was just here! She was sitting right there!"