After I hung up the phone, I didn’t waste a second and ran straight to the bank, barely a hundred yards from my front door.

Sure enough, it was market day, and the place was packed. People were jammed in at the entrance, some waiting to finish their business, and others were just there for the drama.

“Excuse me, could you please make some space?" I called out over the crowd.

I managed to squeeze through a small opening, and just as I got to the ticket machine, unexpectedly, a shoe flew in and hit me directly on the forehead.

“They stole my money! They’re trying to kill me!”

The shrill, piercing voice cut through the bank.

I looked up and saw Nancy Walker, the woman who had caused the scene.

Two security guards working together held her back, but she wouldn’t have it.

Standing beside the guards, our supervisor tried to calm her down. “Ma’am, we have cameras everywhere, and every step is recorded. We’ll take you to the back and review everything. There’s no way a mistake happened.”

But Nancy snapped back, “No mistake? So you’re saying my money just disappeared? My account should have $2 million. That’s the money I saved for my son’s wedding. Now there are only $20,000 left. What am I supposed to do? I might as well just die. Your bank is the one driving me to this.”

She threw herself toward the wall like she would slam her head against it.

I dashed over, holding my head as if to protect it.

Then, I butted in, “Ms. Walker, I’m here now. I handled your deposit. Let’s calm down and talk this through. It’s the New Year. Whatever the problem is, we can work it out peacefully.”

I was panting, nearly blurting all my words out in one breath.

When Nancy saw it was me, she eased up a little. I exchanged relieved looks with my coworkers.

But before we could catch our breath, she shoved the security guard aside and suddenly lunged at me, swinging hard and slapping me twice.

My forehead scraped against the zipper on her shoe, and my head was already pounding.

Trying to collect myself, I told her calmly, Ms. Walker, you can’t hit people."

My vision went black for a moment.

I barely caught myself on the sofa so I wouldn’t fall, but she didn’t give me a chance.

Nancy lunged again, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and yelled, “You little brat! I did business with you! Now my money’s gone! It’s you, that cold-hearted girl, who stole it!”

“No—”

I barely got the word out before Nancy slammed my head into the wooden armrest of the sofa.

The security guards rushed over to grab her, but Nancy pressed me in front of her and screamed at the crowd gathering, “Look! The bank staff stole my money, and now they’re covering it up! This is the hard-earned cash of everyday people! They want me dead, and they’re trying to gag me in the back!”

My scalp was on fire from her pulling, but when Mr. Bradford, our supervisor, heard that, he stopped the security from moving in and tried to reason with her.

“Ma’am, we don’t mean that. Our bank may not be one of the big national chains, but we’ve been here for years. Ask around. Has anything like this ever happened before?”

Nancy gritted her teeth, her voice rising. “Don’t give me that! All I know is my money’s gone, and you’re making people take time off to cover it up so there won’t be any proof when I’m dead!”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, people whispering back to her.

“If this weren’t true, she wouldn’t be making such a fuss.”

“Yeah, there are cameras everywhere nowadays. I bet it’s true.”

“My uncle’s youngest daughter works at a bank and told me about all these shady deals.”

“If she didn’t make noise, that money would surely be gone. Don’t you believe me?”

The crowd started to believe her, buying into her version without question.

I tried to loosen her grip on my hair and shouted, “That’s not true! We can check the cameras right here, in front of everyone!”

Hearing me still talking, Nancy suddenly removed her sock and shoved it into my mouth.

“I told you to shut up and lie!” she yapped.

This terrible, indescribable smell assaulted my nose, and I was so overwhelmed that tears began streaming down my face.

My coworker, Andrea Mitchell, pushed through the crowd and yelled, “I’ve already called the cops, and we’ve got the surveillance footage. If you don’t let go and keep making a scene, it’s gonna count as assault!”

Seizing the moment when Nancy loosened her grip, I yanked the sock from my mouth and warned, “Before you showed up, I called your son, Darren. If his workplace hears you’re causing this trouble, he can kiss any promotion goodbye.”

Hearing her son’s name, Nancy froze for a moment, but didn’t let go of me. She dragged me toward the wall, tearing at her hair and ripping her clothes in frustration.

“Oh god! I can’t live like this anymore! They’ve got connections everywhere, from top to bottom. My money’s gone for good. If I die, I’m taking someone down with me.”

The crowd around us stirred, their voices rising in support.

“Don’t be scared! We’re all witnesses. If they don’t pay up, we’re reporting them!”

“Yeah, the money we worked so hard for isn’t just gonna disappear.”

“Those girls at the bank just mess around after hours. They probably planned to steal the money all along.”

...

Nancy Walker had completely lost her mind.

She hit me so hard that I saw stars, and my entire shoulder felt like it was about to snap.

I glanced at our manager for help, but he was nowhere to be found.

Walter Cromwell, our bank manager, was hiding behind the crowd, calling and telling the onlookers, “I’ll make sure everyone gets an explanation. Our bank would never make a stupid mistake like this…”

I knew what was going on.

It was his performance evaluation period, and he couldn’t afford any incidents at the bank.

If I guessed right, Mr. Cromwell would have called the police station right then to tell them it was all a misunderstanding, that the situation had been handled, and that they didn’t need to come.

Sure enough, when I looked again, Andrea had vanished, and the two security guards were gone too.

Nancy kept smashing into me recklessly. My face was scratched and bleeding from where she clawed at me.

Just when I felt like I was about to pass out, a familiar voice rang like a miracle.

“Mom! What the hell are you doing?”

Groggy, I looked over and saw Nancy’s son, Darren.

The moment he spoke, Nancy’s eyes rolled, and she let go of me, rushing toward him in tears.

“My son, you're finally here! Your mother’s been bullied, and the money saved for your wedding is gone. What are we supposed to do?”

She sobbed, leaning heavily on Darren. At first glance, it looked like she meant it.

But Darren glanced at the crowd, then roughly pushed her aside. “What kind of nonsense is this? Isn’t this embarrassing enough already?”

Disbelief flickered in Nancy’s eyes.

After a moment, she broke down crying loudly and hard, lamenting that her son was ungrateful and didn’t understand a mother’s pain.

People leaned in, exchanging hushed comments that made it clear whose side they were on.

“Tsk, I thought he came to stand up for his mom. I didn't expect he'd push her.”

“Poor woman. Two zeros missing from her deposit, bullied by strangers, and even her son won’t stand by her.”

“He just decided his mom was causing trouble without even asking. No backbone at all.”

The whispers grew louder, feeding the tension as Nancy’s sobs filled the space. I could barely keep my footing with all the eyes turning hostile.

Hearing the crowd egging her on, I stepped in quickly and said, “We triple-checked the deposit. That’s exactly what was there. You’re welcome to check the surveillance footage yourself.”

Upon hearing that, Darren glared at his mother, but she quickly swung her foot to kick me.

“You’re still lying! It was $2 million before, and now it’s $20,000! If it wasn’t you, then who? Son, she’s the one who tricked your mother.”

Seeing the situation spiraling, I grabbed the manager’s microphone and swore, “I put my job on the line—there was no mistake. Every step was recorded. That day, Aunt Linda came with $20,000 in cash. $20,000 and $2 million? That’s a whole different ballgame.”

The crowd’s murmurs grew louder, their voices full of disbelief and speculation.

“That’s true. Losing a couple hundred might happen, but $20,000 or $2 million? No way. Nobody’s that careless.”

“She’s all bruised and battered but still standing her ground. She’s gotta have some solid proof.”

“And her son’s not even backing her up. You think he’s just stirring up trouble on purpose?”

I gripped the microphone tightly, the pain in my body starting to sink in. I thought everything would be fine once I’d shifted public opinion.

But right after, the branch manager barked an order to have me dragged off, with the microphone still in hand.

Darren’s face went stone cold.

Then, out of nowhere, Darren spoke up. “No, I remember now. My mom deposited $2 million at this bank right before New Year's. But now she’s saying it’s just $20,000? What the hell’s going on here? And you, Emily...my mom trusted you. She said you were a longtime neighbor, just started this job, and gave you all her savings to help with your performance. This is how you repay her?”

I felt the floor drop beneath me.

Was he serious?

Did he not want this job anymore?

How could he throw something like that out there with zero proof?