That shouldn't be possible, he thought.
Alex had been having a nice dinner with his family and friends when the lights suddenly went out. Everything else - the fridge, the freezer, even SCOT - had gone offline. It was becoming a mad scramble to figure out what was going on. Out of desperation, Alex had relented and called his bank. He waited for several minutes, listening to low-grade holding music while the representative verified Alex's identity.
"Thank you for holding, Mr. Ambrose," said the sweet-voiced representative. "I think we've found the issue."
"Oh thank goodness," Alex said, feeling relieved. "What happened? Can we fix it?"
"Well," said the representative, sounding uncertain. "That depends. Mr. Ambrose, do you by any chance remember making any large purchases or transfers in the last few days?"
"No?" Alex asked, confused. "Why do you ask?"
"Because," the representative explained, "on the screen I have in front of me, it appears that you transferred all of your holdings in currency, gold, bonds, and stocks, and everything else, to one single account."
Alex's heart sank. "What? I never authorized such a transaction!" His voice was growing higher in pitch as he spoke. "There must be some mistake."
"There's no mistake, Mr. Ambrose," said the representative. "I can forward you all of the details if you would like, and I can see your digital signature clearly on my end." There was a pause as Alex let the news sink in. "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
Alex didn't answer. He just hung up the phone and slumped onto the sofa, feeling dejected.
Alex had had a steady seven-figure bank balance since the day he had completed his poverty training. Debbie had insisted that he didn't know what to do with so much money, and he had been determined to prove her wrong. Still, the more he tried to think about it, the more he realized that he hadn't spent that much of it. True, he sometimes flashed his credit card a little too freely, but there was always a balance to fall back on.
He desperately pulled up his mobile banking app, and a massive pit opened up in his stomach.
Balance: $0.00
Alex fell back onto the sofa, screaming with horror. He couldn't stop staring at his account. What had happened to all of his money?
A panicked Flora rushed in, tailed by Gideon. When he saw them, he stopped screaming and showed them the banking app. Gideon took the phone, his eyes wide with shock.
"All my money's gone!" Alex said desperately.
"I was going to say," Gideon said, looking up at him, "that the backup generator was empty. But this is another explanation." He tossed the phone back to Alex, who caught it with disbelief.
"I don't know what happened," Alex said. "My account was nice and healthy this morning. I didn't spend anything today." He scrolled through the transactions, but he only saw one word: Enrichment.
What is that? He thought. He tried to do an online search for it, but nothing useful came up. Frustrated, he threw his phone at the sofa. It bounced off the cushions and landed with a thud on the floor. He stared at it, breathing heavily, his face flushed red from anger.
As Alex let the crushing weight of realization dawn on him, Gideon and Flora filled in the others on the situation. They all offered their sympathy to Alex, but he pushed them off, pacing anxiously around the room, venting loudly.
"I've been hacked!" he yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls. Everyone was staring at him frightened. "That's the only explanation!"
Alex immediately stopped hyperventilating. He was acutely aware of the fact that Christopher, Louis, and Yvonne were watching from the kitchen, curious and concerned. Alex felt his face go red with frustration.
"Someone authorized a massive transaction in my name," Alex said, gritting his teeth. "They took everything. Bonds, stocks, gold, and all of the currency. I have nothing left."
"Who stole your money?" Gideon asked, concerned.
"I don't know," Alex said, shaking his head. "There's just one word here - Enrichment."
Gideon stopped for a moment, a strange look crossing his face. He picked up Alex's phone and scrolled through. After a moment, he handed the phone - which was miraculously not broken - back to Alex. Gideon grabbed him by the shoulders and held him still.
"We put you through poverty training for a reason," he said, looking his son in the eyes, "and it was to prepare you for a situation like this."
He's right, Alex thought, pulling away from Gideon. He slumped down in the nearest seat and the others gathered around him. Ken Stokes handed him a beer, but he didn't drink it. In a matter of minutes, he had gone from one of the richest people in Baltimore, to flat broke.
"We can't stay here," Alex said, sadly. He looked around the living room. "Without power, we're sitting ducks."
"I have a suggestion," Yvonne said. Everyone turned to look at her.
"We could stay at my place," she offered. "My house isn't as big or grand as yours, Alex, but it'll do for a temporary base of operations while we figure out what's going on."
"I like that idea," said Christopher, smiling at Yvonne.
Alex paused to consider the way the two of them looked at each other. Christopher looked at Yvonne with a tenderness that sent a wave of jealousy through Alex. Alex gritted his teeth and looked away.
"It's as good a plan as any," he said bitterly.
***********
A small part of Yvonne had been fretting over what the others would think about her living situation. She had been careful about trying to cultivate the image of someone who had come from humble beginnings. That was, in part, what she had admired about Debbie. Debbie had appreciated Alex or who he was ebcause money simply hadn't mattered to her.
Money had never mattered much to Yvonne, either, which was why she had gon to great efforts to avoid bringing any of them to her home. Now, it seemed, she had had no other choice but to invite them all for an impromptu sleepover.
I haven't had a sleepover since I was a kid, she thought as she sat behind the wheel of her car. Alex was in the passenger seat, looking at her with an odd expression.
What are you thinking? she wondered. Oh, right. You're wondering why I didn't tell you where I lived.
Yvonne had never told the others that she came from money. Well, it wasn't that much money. Her father was the Button Boy of Baltimore, and she sometimes worked for him in the finance department. He also gave her a generous allowance, which she found embarrassing. She was a grown woman, and she wanted to earn her own money.
Her house was nowhere near as grand as the Ambrose's forest home. Still, she could feel that everyone was impressed. They stared as they drove up the road and into the driveway. Alex was behind the steering wheel, and his jaw dropped when he saw the house. It was big enough for Yvonne and all of her needs, and for everyone to have a bedroom to themselves.
It was early evening, and they had taken two cars. The first held Alex, Yvonne, Gideon, and Flora, and the second held Christopher, Louis, and Ken Stokes. Both cars pulled into the driveway, and they all got out to stretch their legs. Yvonne waved to Jose, her gardener, as she headed across the lawn to the front door.
Once they were all inside, Yvonne twirled and asked, "What do you think?"
"It's amazing, Yvonne," Alex said, walking down the hallway and admiring the decor. Yvonne liked a modern look, with a few splashes of color here and there. Everyone apart from Flora complimented Yvonne on her design and style choices,
Yvonne felt butterflies in her stomach when Christopher came up to her.
"It's very you," he said with a coy smile. "I can't wait to see the rest of it."
A blush crept up her cheeks. Yvonne couldn't help but think of how cute he was. A part of her was worried that he would forget all about her once he regained his memory. There was a sweet side to him that she had never seen before, and she was scared that it would disappear.
"There are bedrooms upstairs," she said. "We might have to double up. Sorry, there are four bedrooms. So Flora and Gideon can take one, Christopher and Alex in another, and Ken and Louis in the last one. Does that sound okay?"
Yvonne had never had this many people over to her house before. Well, maybe when she was a child and had a birthday party here or there, but never this many staying the night.
"Oh, Yvonne," Flora said, with her hands on her heart. "I mean this with all the love in the world: you need to hire a designer. Soon."
"I volunteer!" said Ken. He walked through the door, bringing in everyone's bags.
"Oh Ken!!" Flora said quickly, her eyes wide. "You are a true artist!"
Yvonne tilted her head to one side, regarding Alex's mother. She was very glad that she didn't have a thing for Alex anymore, because having this woman as a mother-in-law would have been a nightmare.
"I like my house," she said, "just the way it is." She looked back at Christopher. "It's very me."
Christopher smiled a little, and Flora walked off, dejected.
Ken Stokes tuned to face Christopher and Yvonne. A broad grin broke out across his face.
"Kid," he said, "I know you lost your memories, and I don't know how you are at making new ones, but please try to remember the look on Flora Ambrose's face when I volunteered myself to redesign Yvonne's home!"
Yvonne broke out into a chuckle.
"I mean," Yvonne said, shrugging her shoulders, "once this whol emess is over and done with, you would be more than welcome to redesign my home."
Ken's eyes lit up at the prospect. "I'd be obliged, madame," he said with a flourish, "If there's one thing I love more than anything else in the world, it's helping others bring out the best in their homes with a renovation!"
Yvonne shared a glance with Louis.
"Maybe not to the same extent as Alex's house," she said thoughtfully. "At most, this place could use a fresh coat of paint and some upgraded furniture."
"Maybe a green screen and souundstage in your front yard?" Ken offered. "Yvonne, this house was made for a grand scale Hollywood production!"
Yvonne chuckled again and shook her head. At least in the light of all the craziness, it was reassuring to know that someone could find the humor in all of it.