Anabel's workers greeted him as he passed, but he barely acknowledged them. His mind was solely focused on the task ahead.
Reaching her office door, he took a deep breath, smoothed his expression, and knocked. The door opened, and he walked in.
Anabel sat on her seat with a polite smile on her lips. "You are here," she said with her neutral voice as if nothing happened.
Sylvester mirrored her smile while walking toward her desk. "Yeah, I’ve missed you so much." He got to her desk and sat down.
Anabel leaned back slightly and crossed her arms. "You missed me, but you haven’t been calling."
Sylvester chuckled and shook his head. "My phone had a problem. I couldn't make a call for days."
Anabel nodded slowly. "So, What brings you here?"
"Actually, I was planning to visit you. But today, I have a problem with my account. It was blocked. I went to the bank, and the manager said I stole someone’s money, which, of course, I didn’t do."
Anabel raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
Sylvester continued. "Yesterday, I saw a credit alert on my phone, and I was happy. I knew it was you. I was planning to come and thank you. Then, suddenly, the bank accused me of theft. It’s normal for a bank to freeze an account over a huge unexpected transaction, yes, but I’m here to thank you for the money and also to let you know what the stupid bank did." He finished his story, but Anabel’s expression remained neutral.
"Did I tell you I was sending you money?" she asked, and Sylvester nodded quickly. "Max collected my account number and told me you wanted to send it. That’s why I thought it was you. Are you saying you didn’t? Max lied to me?"
Anabel stared at him for a moment before tilting her head slightly. "Do I look stupid to you?"
Sylvester stiffened slightly but kept his smile intact. "Anabel, come on...."
"So in your mind," she interrupted, "you think I will believe this ridiculous cooked-up story?"
"I'm not lying to you. Believe me, I would never steal from my girlfriend. I told Max about the money you wanted to give me. I didn’t know he had other plans. I was planning to call you yesterday to confirm if it was truly you and thank you, but my phone messed up."
"Listen, Sylvester. No need for all these stories. You are a liar. Not only a liar, but a cheat."
"Cheat? I’ve never cheated on you. You know I can’t do that. I love you." He said, and Anabel’s eyes darkened more. "You are just a terrible liar, Sylvester. You never loved me. All you wanted was my money."
Sylvester’s breathing grew shallow. He had always been able to manipulate situations and twist words, but this time, Anabel was seeing through everything.
"You and Vanessa faked a surgery just to get money from me." She paused for a moment and continued. "You lied and told me Vanessa was your cousin when she was actually your fiancée. And now? You planned to steal from my company through your friend, Max, because I didn't send the three million dollars."
Sylvester's heart began to race in fear. How did she know all of this? His mind went wild, thinking of what to say and defend himself as usual, but there was nothing.
Anabel wasn’t making assumptions. She knew everything. She had his secrets in the palm of her hand.