My Intern Stole My Million-Dollar House Fund

Serena was Wall Street's top-performing sales champion for nine straight years. She saved for over a decade toward a Manhattan penthouse, a five million dollar down payment. When she went to close, the bank said there was no fraud, but the account held fifty dollars. Nathan accused her of spending on other men and ended their engagement.

The money went to Amber, the intern Serena had mentored. Amber had spent it on a limited-edition Birkin, an eighteen-thousand-dollar outfit, and Michelin dinners. Her answer: "So I spent it for you." Serena grabbed Amber by the neck. Amber pushed her, and Serena's head hit the office desk. The injury cost Serena her life.

Serena woke one month earlier. She stopped taking projects. She set text alerts on every purchase, remembering she had once turned them off because they buried client emails. On quarterly bonus day, she told finance not to deposit her bonus and to pay it in cash instead.

Amber claimed she won the lottery and treated the office to a Michelin restaurant. She ordered caviar, albino white truffles, Maine lobster, and an eight-thousand-dollar bottle of Romanée-Conti. When the check came, Amber's card was declined. She asked Serena to cover it. Serena was saving for an apartment and declined. Wendy lent Amber the money.

The next day, Amber asked Serena to handle the M&A deal with her. Amber offered sixty-forty, then seventy-thirty, then the entire commission. Serena refused. Amber phoned Nathan. Her report: she had done her best, Serena still would not agree. Nathan's instruction: make Serena take the deal. Serena checked her phone for a Trojan, found none, and wondered how Amber had drained her card without a trace.

At a phone shop, Serena checked the phone again. Nathan phoned and told her to come home. She claimed she was at a coffee shop. The memory of his earlier accusation and broken engagement played back. Back at the office, Lisa gave Serena her fifteen-thousand-dollar cash bonus. Serena put it in her bag and left the bag on her desk. Two hours later, the money was gone.

Serena continued to set traps and gather evidence. Step by step, she outmaneuvered Amber and Nathan and turned them against each other. She brought the betrayers to justice, reclaimed her wealth, reputation, and power, and rose to the pinnacle of investment banking, stronger than ever.