Part 1Letting My Toxic Ex Burn

My boyfriend, Todd, insisted on dragging me to the bank to handle the wire transfer.

He adamantly demanded that Gigi, his precious childhood friend who was working as a junior teller, process the transaction. He claimed he wanted to help her get some hands-on experience so she could settle into her new job.

But the moment I inserted the security key, Gigi did something unfathomable: she dumped the entire capital pool into a failing penny stock called GreenTerra Solutions, which was hours away from being delisted.

She turned to me, blowing a mock kiss with a grating, childish lisp.

"Don't be so grumpy, Gwenny! My horoscope said I have massive financial luck today."

"Look at that little stock, it's so sad and green. Once Gigi doubles the money, I'll give it all to you to spend, okay?"

I was shaking with rage, demanding she cancel the trade immediately. But Todd didn't hesitate. He grabbed the physical authorization form and signed his name to back her up.

"Don't worry about her petty lecturing, Gigi. Even if you lose every single cent of her pocket change, I can cover it ten times over!"

But that wasn't "pocket change." That was the hundred million dollars in emergency state funding just released for the Canyon Lake Dam reinforcement project.

In my past life, I had literally smashed the glass barrier and ripped the ethernet cable out of the wall to stop the transaction.

Because of my desperate intervention, the company secured the materials in time, reinforced the dam, and survived the devastating summer floods.

But Todd? He was fired because his precious childhood friend almost caused a catastrophic disaster. He hated me for it.

He spun a web of lies, accusing me of embezzling company funds, and eventually locked me inside the archive room before setting the building on fire.

"Gigi is so innocent, Gwen. How dare you terrify her? You can turn to ash right along with these records."

Now, I opened my eyes. I was right back to the exact second before Gigi clicked "Confirm Purchase."

I stepped back, folding my arms across my chest.

Go ahead. Buy it. Since you, the regional project director, have personally authorized this madness.

Let's see if your horoscope can predict the absolute ruin waiting for both of you.

* * *

"Ding—Transaction Successful."

The massive capital pool on the screen instantly drained to zero.

One hundred million dollars of emergency infrastructure funding had just been converted into shares of "GreenTerra Solutions," a toxic, frozen stock.

Gigi squealed with delight, clapping her hands.

"Yay! It went through!"

"Todd, look, look! It's all green! It looks so pretty and full of life, like little grass!"

She bit her thumb, spinning around to throw herself into Todd's arms.

She cooed, her voice dripping with a nauseating, high-pitched sweetness.

"Todd, isn't Gigi clever?"

"Gigi did some wealth management for her big brother today!"

Todd's eyes softened with absolute adoration. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, stroking her hair.

When he turned to look at me, however, his face hardened into a sneer of utter contempt.

"See that, Gwen? Gigi is just naturally gifted at this."

I took a sharp step forward, reaching for the mouse, my voice cold as ice. "Todd, this is the emergency infrastructure funding the State Treasury just transferred to our firm. It's the material procurement budget for the Canyon Lake Dam—exactly one hundred million dollars. If anything goes wrong, the criminal liability falls squarely on your head!"

Todd waved me off dismissively, looking at me like I was a hysterical child.

"Stop being such a fearmonger. The peak flood season doesn't start for another month. What's the rush? Once Gigi doubles the money in a few days, we'll pull it out and put it back. No harm, no foul."

Looking at his arrogant, clueless face, a strange, freezing calm washed over me.

I had already resigned from any active role in the company weeks ago; today, I was only here because he had begged me to accompany him.

Since some people are hell-bent on digging their own graves, why should I stop them?

"Fine," I said, my voice completely level. "Since the funds have been moved, you'd better keep the original signed authorization paper safe. That's your neck on the line."

I needed to make sure the physical evidence remained intact. He had to burn with no way out.

Todd let out a harsh laugh, reaching for the official document on the desk.

But Gigi’s eyes darted to it, and her restless, destructive fingers got there first. She snatched the authorization sheet, crumpling it in her fists with a childish pout.

"This paper is too rough! I hate the texture! Gigi doesn't like it!"

And then, she did something unbelievable.

She pulled a designer lipstick out of her Chanel bag. With aggressive, chaotic strokes, she scribbled right over the official state seal.

"Look, Todd! I drew a big fat turtle!"

She giggled, but she wasn't done. With a sharp tug, she ripped the document in half.

Rip—

The legally binding document that held the safety of hundreds of thousands of lives was shredded into tiny pieces.

"Oh, that felt so good! Total stress relief!"

She laughed, tossing the shredded paper into the air. The white scraps rained down around her like cheap snow, covering the marble floor.

Todd noticed me staring at her, and like a rabid guard dog defending its bone, he stepped in front of her. His face twisted in fury as he barked at me:

"What are you looking at? Lose the attitude, Gwen!"

"I'm the director of this project! How we manage the cash flow is my decision!"

"If Gigi wants to rip up paper, I'll order a truckload of it tomorrow for her to shred. Don't you dare glare at her like she's done something wrong!"

Gigi peeked from behind Todd’s broad shoulder, sticking her tongue out at me.

"Exactly! It's just some stupid paper. Todd will protect me!"

Right then, the stock market opened.

The penny stock didn't even put up a fight. It plunged in a vertical, straight line. Limit down. Frozen at the bottom.

One hundred million dollars, instantly locked in a death spiral. Within seconds, ten million dollars of the principal simply evaporated into thin air.

Gigi looked at the plummeting numbers and slammed the mouse down in frustration.

"Ugh! What's wrong with this stupid stock? It's so annoying!"

"The green turned to ugly red! Gigi wants to punish it!"

Her fingers grabbed the mouse again, switching back to the bank's internal portal.

"I'm going to take the rest of the bank's vault reserves and buy more to average down! I'll force it to go back up!"

She was actually trying to tap into the bank's federal reserve liquidity to double down on a delisted stock.

Instead of stopping her, Todd grinned, looking incredibly proud.

"That's my girl. Bold move."

Suddenly, the phone on the desk erupted into a violent vibration. The caller ID flashed in bold, urgent letters:

CANYON LAKE DAM SITE - EMERGENCY COMMAND

Todd reached out to grab it. But Gigi was faster. She snatched the phone away.