My Assistant Stole My Millions, So I Ruined Her Life

My family is filthy rich. But in my past life, I ended up dumpster diving and eating discarded food just to avoid spending a single penny.

All because of my snake of a colleague, Chloe Finch. She secretly installed spyware on my phone.

Every single dollar I spent digitally was silently redirected straight into her bank account.

Then, she used gaslighting and moral blackmail to force me into signing a pledge at our companys annual gala, promising to cover the catering and venue bill for the entire company.

Thinking it was just a good way to build professional relationships, I didn't think twice. I signed a digital billing authorization for three hundred thousand dollars.

But the moment the form was uploaded, my payment authorization mysteriously glitched. My bank accounts showed a terrifying balance of zero.

Overnight, the entire office branded me as a pathetic liar who wrote bad checks. Even Jackson Miller, the rising star of our department whom I was dating, dumped me on the spot.

Meanwhile, Chloe used my stolen money to flaunt her wealth. She generously paid the bill for everyone, branding herself as a sweet, generous heiress. She even spread rumors that I was just a charity case living off her family's scraps.

Furious, I pulled out my physical black card to prove my wealth, but the credit card terminals kept throwing fraud alerts, locking my limits.

Chloe, on the other hand, casually swiped her card to pay a million-dollar deposit, booking the most expensive restaurant in the city. She sneered at me in front of everyone:

"Still trying to play rich when you're flat broke, Sera? Your mother is just a maid. Does her hourly wage even cover the cost of you pretending to be high class?"

I was subjected to horrific cyberbullying and workplace harassment. The mental toll was too much, and my health rapidly deteriorated due to the stress. Before my dad could return from abroad to save me, my heart gave out, and I died in misery.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the company gala. Right at the exact moment Chloe was pressuring me to sign the dinner pledge in front of everyone.

"Sera Wood, you are so incredibly vain! Youre just a maid's daughter. How dare you brag about paying for the entire company's dinner!"

"Exactly! If Chloe hadn't generously stepped in and covered the bill for us tonight, youd be exposed as a total fraud!"

"Apologize to Chloe right now, or Im calling the police for wire fraud and damaging the company's reputation!"

The deafening screech of insults rang in my ears. Jostled by the aggressive crowd of colleagues around me, I snapped back to reality.

Looking at the familiar, angry faces of my coworkers, it finally clicked. I had been reborn.

I was back to the day Chloe used that malware to set me up, forcing me to make a fool of myself at the gala.

Just seconds ago, the digital payment authorization I signed had mysteriously failed.

And Chloe had immediately stepped up, swiped her card to pay the bill, and loudly announced to everyone that I was just the daughter of her familys housekeeper.

Suddenly, a clear, intrusive thought flashed in my mind. It was Chloes inner voice!

*Sign it, you idiot! The software is already running. Once the authorization goes through, all your family's cash will flow directly into my account!*

I understood everything in an instant.

Seeing my silence, Chloe pushed through the crowd, putting on a fake, concerned face.

"Sera, I didn't mind when you secretly wore my designer dresses left at the office, or when you borrowed my limited-edition handbags to show off on Snapchat. But how could you write a bad check at a major company event?"

"We all know you don't have the money to pay for this. Just apologize. Otherwise, I won't be able to defend you in front of the regional manager anymore!"

Looking at the malicious greed in her eyes, I knew she was trying to bait me into a prideful rage.

In my past life, I had fallen for it.

I had angrily thrown my black card on the table, telling everyone to order whatever they wanted.

But when the servers went to process the payment, the card reader blared:

"Transaction Declined. Insufficient Funds. Please try again."

In contrast, Chloe had swept in like a savior, transferring millions to cover everything, even promising to pay for all future company outings.

I became the office pariaha vain, pathetic imposterwhile Chloe became the beloved, generous billionaire heiress.

As I was calculating my next move, my boyfriend, Jackson, suddenly broke through the crowd.

He was the golden boy of our marketing team. Tonight, he was dripping in designer clothes, wearing a luxury watch worth a hundred grand on his wristall bought with my money. He pointed a finger at me, disgust written all over his face.

"Sera Wood! I actually believed you were from a wealthy family. Turns out youre just a cheap fraud! If you hadn't practically begged me and acted like my loyal little puppy for the past year, I wouldn't have looked at you twice. We are over. Don't ever contact me again!"

But he was the one who had practically begged me on his knees to date him after drooling over my luxury lifestyle posts on Instagram.

If he hadn't been decent-looking and competent at his job, I wouldn't have bothered keeping him as a pet.

But now, he looked at me like I was toxic waste, violently shoving me back to make sure everyone saw him cutting ties with me.

The onlookers cheered, congratulating Jackson on escaping a "gold-digger."

Ha. A gold-digger?

I gave him a hundred-thousand-dollar monthly allowance. And they called him the victim.

Just as I opened my mouth to expose them, Chloes eyes welled with fake tears, and she slapped me across the face.

"Sera, why can't you just admit you're wrong? Your mother is a housekeeper at my estate, but Ive always treated you like a sister! All you had to do was say sorry, and I would have forgiven you. Why do you have to keep lying?"

"Admit it? Fine. Ill admit it right now."

I held my red, stinging cheek, stood up straight, and raised my voice so the entire room could hear:

"Youre right. I, Sera Wood, am just a maids daughter! I was vain, I pretended to be Chloe, and I made a promise I couldn't keep. I was wrong!"

"I hope the great heiress Chloe Finch can find it in her heart to forgive a poor maid's daughter like me."

The entire room fell dead silent. No one expected me to confess so easily.

Chloe stammered, trying to find more words to humiliate me, but I turned around and walked straight out of the banquet hall, giving her no chance to spin her web further.

The moment I got back to the modest apartment I had rented to "experience normal life," I opened my shopping apps.

Chloe probably thought my lack of resistance meant I was planning something. But as she watched her bank account balance swell, she couldn't help but gloat.

She immediately sent me a message on Snapchat: *"Sera, the team says you need to prove your apology. Order 100 deluxe organic catering boxes to the office tomorrow."*

I sneered and replied with a simple, *"Sure."*

I ordered the most expensive catering boxes available.

But the moment the delivery driver dropped them off at the front desk, I immediately logged onto the app and clicked "Refund - Wrong Address/Item Spoiled."

I didn't stop there. I went on Amazon and luxury retail apps, buying millions of dollars worth of designer gear, and immediately filed "Chargeback" disputes and "Item Not Received" refunds.

With a few clicks, the hundreds of thousands of dollars I had just "spent" flowed right back into my bank accounts.

In the distance, I could practically hear Chloe's panicked thoughts.

*What the hell? Why is my ledger app showing a random catering purchase? And why can't I delete this refund history?!*

I knew it!

To perfectly replicate my transaction history, her spyware automatically generated matching records on her device. But a refund bypasses the spywares routing, leaving an indelible, undeletable digital trail of fraud on her phone!

I wanted to scream with joy.

Chloe was in for a wild ride.

Over the next few days, I went on a massive three-million-dollar shopping spree.

And for every single purchasefrom cheap snacks and makeup to limited-edition luxury bags, designer gowns, and even a foreclosed suburban propertyI exploited the instant-refund and chargeback loophole.

Still, a lingering anxiety remained.

Remembering how my health had suddenly collapsed in my past life, I decided to head back to my familys actual estate over the weekend to investigate.

But the moment I pushed open the grand double doors of my mansion, I froze.

Chloe and Jackson were throwing a wild party in my living room, surrounded by a crowd of my coworkers.

When they saw me, their faces immediately twisted in disgust.

"Oh, Sera. You're back," Chloe said. She was wearing one of my custom-tailored designer gowns, casually swirling a glass of 1992 Chateau Lafite. She walked toward me with mock elegance.

"Its Jacksons birthday today. He really wanted to have his party at my family's estate, so I brought him and the team over. We actually drank through the entire wine cellar. Go order a few more cases of the '92 Lafite right now."

I stared at her glowing, heavily made-up face, momentarily stunned.

Clothes really do make the person. Chloe, funded by the millions she had stolen from me, looked entirely different from the plain, nervous girl who had followed her mother to my house years ago to beg for a job.

But I was genuinely curious about how she was pulling this off.

Seeing me silent, Chloe grew impatient, pointing a manicured finger at my face.

"What are you standing there for? Move! I put together this birthday bash for Jackson. If you ruin his night, you won't survive the consequences. Oh, and make sure you get the Lafite. Its Jackson's favorite."

"And while you're at it, call the Michelin-star pastry shop for a custom cake, and book a VIP lounge at the rooftop club for the afterparty."

I almost laughed out loud at her sheer audacity.

Using my stolen money to fund her luxury lifestyle, and now she wanted me to act as her personal errand girl?

In her dreams.

I stood rooted to the spot, refusing to budge.

Looking at the hundreds of empty, priceless wine bottles littered around the room, I silently prayed for them.

If my dad found out his vintage collection had been guzzled by these parasites, he would personally destroy them.

Jackson, clearly drunk, stumbled over, flanked by a group of scowling coworkers.

"Sera Wood, are you deaf? Youre a worthless maids daughter. When Chloe, our resident heiress, tells you to do something, you jump! Go buy the damn wine!"

"If you ruin Jackson's birthday because of your laziness, Chloe can have your mother fired with a single phone call. She'll be begging for scraps on the street!" one coworker sneered.

The luxury watch I had gifted Jackson was gone. In its place was a ridiculously thick, gaudy solid gold watch.

He was also spinning a key fob for a limited-edition supercar on his finger, looking like a total textbook nouveau riche.

No wonder everyone was kissing his ass. Chloe must have spent at least three million of my dollars on him.

I couldn't help but chuckle. No wonder Chloe was so desperate for me to keep spending; she needed to fund her boytoy.

"Im so sorry, Chloe," I said mockingly. "My salary is only a few thousand dollars a month. I don't have the funds to prepay for your expensive wine. If you want to fire my mother, go ahead. Ill tell her to pack her bags and leave your estate immediately."

I turned to leave, but someone grabbed my hair from behind, ripping me backward.

"Sera Wood, you ungrateful bitch! How dare a servant's daughter talk back to Chloe!"

Jacksons eyes were filled with pure malice.

"If you hadn't stolen Chloe's identity and tricked me, Chloe and I wouldn't have wasted so much time apart!"

"I'm going to teach you some manners today!"

With a wave of his hand, half a dozen coworkers ran forward, pinning my arms behind my back.

I struggled, panic rising in my chest. "Let me go! Are you all insane?!"

Jackson laughed maniacally and slapped me hard across the face. "Im doing Chloe a favor by disciplining her servant!"

Searing pain bloomed across my face. My lip split, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

Chloe stood by, sipping her wine and watching the show with a satisfied smirk.

"Honestly, Sera, Ive been way too soft on you. Thats why you forgot your place. It's good for Jackson to teach you a lesson. Maybe now youll remember who the real owner of this estate is."

Dizzy and bleeding, I screamed for the estate's butler and security, only to realize the house staff had been completely dismissed for the party.

It seemed that during the months I was living near the office to focus on work, Chloe's mother had completely taken over the estate management.

After a while, Jackson grew tired of hitting me.

But his greedy eyes suddenly locked onto my wrist.

"Where did you get that watch? You stole it from Chloe, didn't you?!"

His eyes lit up with greed as he grabbed my wrist, trying to rip the watch off.

The metal dug painfully into my skin. "Let go! This was my mothers!" I screamed.

Jackson didn't believe me. He kicked me squarely in the chest, knocking the wind out of me.

"Your maid mother could never afford a watch like this! You definitely stole it from Chloe's room!"

He twisted my wrist violently.

This watch was the only thing my late mother had left me. I would rather die than let him take it.

I thrashed wildly, prepared to fight them to the death.

But right then, a sharp gasp echoed from the grand entryway.

"What on earth are you doing?! Stop this right now!"

I looked up. It was Brenda Finch, Chloes motherour estate's housekeeper.

Except today, she was dripping in diamonds and gold, looking like a wealthy Beverly Hills housewife.

Chloe gathered her skirt and ran over to her, whining.

"Mom, why are you back so early?"

Jackson and the colleagues immediately stood up straight, politely greeting her.

"Good evening, Mrs. Finch!"

I spat out a mouthful of blood and sneered, "I didn't know my family's estate hired a new 'Mrs. Finch'."

My dad had only been out of the country on business for six months. He trusted Brenda, a long-time employee, to look after the mansion. And this was how she repaid him? By trying to steal our home?

Seeing my bloodied state on the floor, a flash of panic crossed Brenda's eyes, but she quickly masked it with a stern face.

"Hmph. Youre just a maid's daughter. Stop acting like you own the place!"

She turned to Chloe with a doting smile.

"Chloe, sweetie, how many times have I told you? You are a high-society lady. Why are you wasting your time dealing with this trash? It's beneath you."

"Since you've already taught her a lesson, throw her out! Don't let her dirty our floors!"

Chloe giggled and gestured for the coworkers to drag me out.

But then, she pointed at my bruised wrist and the watch, looking for praise.

"Mom, look! Luckily, I caught her trying to steal this watch. We can't let her keep something this valuable!"

But the moment Brendas eyes landed on my watch, the color drained from her face.

She lunged forward, slapping Chloe's hand away from my wrist.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

Brenda's voice was visibly trembling. She looked at me with sheer terror, frantically trying to cover for me.

"This... this watch is just a cheap knockoff her mother bought from a street vendor to look rich! It's worthless junk!"

"None of you are allowed to touch Sera's watch ever again, do you hear me?!"

At that moment, her inner panic echoed clearly in my mind: *My god! The microchip inside can't be damaged! If the signal breaks, the Trojan and the tracking device will completely fail!*

Looking at her terrified expression, the puzzle pieces fell into place.

The watch held a micro-chip that boosted the spywares signal. It was the anchor for their entire theft operation! But Chloe herself had no idea.

"Oh? A knockoff? I thought it was real!"

"Figures. Sera is so vain, she'd wear fake trash just to fit in."

"Ugh, a maid's daughter indeed. So pathetic."

The crowd mocked me as they threw me out into the cold night.

I dragged myself up, immediately unclasped the watch, and sent a message to my dad telling him to return immediately. I also arranged for a trusted courier to take the watch to a tech-forensics lab.

Then, I ran to the luxury boutique, spent three million dollars to buy an exact replica of the watch, and bought a brand-new phone. I turned off my old phone and sealed it in a lead bag.

The moment I switched devices, the heavy, suffocating fog in my chest instantly cleared. I felt a surge of energy. It turned out the chip in the watch and the malware on my old phone had been emitting harmful low-frequency radiation, slowly poisoning my body while draining my bank account.

To avoid alerting Brenda and Chloe, I continued my routine.

Aside from ordering luxury items and filing for chargebacks, I posted daily selfies showing off my "new" watch on Instagram.

Even though the comments were flooded with hate and mockery, I remained unfazed.

Soon, Jackson couldn't resist leaving a comment:

*"Lmao, bragging about a fake watch? Let me show you what real wealth looks like."*

He immediately uploaded a five-minute video on Instagram.

In the video, he was wearing a bespoke designer suit, kneeling before Chloe with a massive, flawless diamond ring.

He shouted: "Chloe, will you marry me?"

Chloe wept tears of joy, and instead of flower petals, the venue was showered with crisp, hundred-dollar bills.

The extravagant video went viral instantly.

"OMG, the power couple of our department! Im so jealous!"

"I looked up that ringit's easily worth a million dollars! Not to mention the cash shower!"

"Sera Wood is officially a joke. Posting her fake watch daily while Jackson marries a literal billionaire!"

I scrolled through the comments, smiling.

In North America, credit card chargebacks and refund fraud over a certain amount are federal offenses.

I wondered what Chloes face would look like when the authorities presented her with millions of dollars in fraudulent transactions that she couldn't erase from her devices.