Once everything is configured, she hands the phone back to her. “Alright, you should be good to go. I saved all your key apps to your homepage, so should be easy enough.”
Kei excitedly takes the phone and while there’s so many apps she wants to try, she starts with the banking app, her curiosity getting the best of her. She presses her finger on the screen when prompted just as Nadia showed her, and soon she’s taken to her account overview. “Holy crap!”
Nadia raises a brow curiously as Kei’s eyes gradually widen the longer she stares at the screen. “I’m guessing it’s more than you were expecting?”
“Nadia...that’s an understatement. This must be a mistake. I may not be the best with numbers, but...isn’t this like, way too many zeros?” She holds the phone up to her face but notices her hesitance to look. “It’s ok, I don’t mind if it’s you. I know I need to be careful with this information so no one can scam me, but I trust you. The way I see it, you’re the only one I can ever really trust honestly.”
Her genuine words touch Nadia. “I-, I trust you too, Kei. Thank you.” Finally, feeling that it is okay, Nadia allows herself to look at the screen, and even she is in awe of the number she sees. “That’s...quite a bit. Not even my account is quite that high, though I will admit that my father made sure it would never be lacking. If I allowed him to, he’d have given me an obnoxious amount like this too, probably. No college student needs this much money, especially when their tuition and expenses have already been paid in full. Not that it’s much anyway since the government supports free and low-cost education. This is far more than you could’ve ever hoped to make in the six years you lived with us.”
“Right?! There’s no way I could’ve earned that much in six years, even on Lowell’s best days.”
“Yeah, that is far beyond his finances. Um, mind if I check the account history?”
“Feel free.” She hands Nadia the phone once again.
Nadia accepts it and begins browsing through the transactions of her savings account. She notes the one thousand Vampir transfer to her checking and her bi-weekly payments of one hundred Vampir as expected, but otherwise the remaining transactions are just Katia’s withdrawals and multiple 5 Vampbyte credits of interest each month. This is the case going back several years. Just as Nadia thinks it’s a bank error, she finds a transaction from five years ago. “This is...?”
“What? Did you find something?” Kei leans in, hoping to get a peek.
“I think so. I mean, this is the only thing it can be. Adding up your stipend payments and interest, which is honestly negligible, and deducting the minor withdrawals Katia made for your needed expenses, you should have around 14,000 Vampir. A sizeable sum in its own right, but still significantly lower than your current balance. However, adding in this deposit brings you there.”
“Yeah, that seems to add up alright, but it’s still too good to be true.”
“The question is though, who would deposit one million Vampir into your account? There’s no one here that you’re acquainted with that could’ve made this deposit, as I’m sure Lowell would’ve told you about something this significant. Could it have been a human relative? No, you said you were an orphan, so that can’t be it. Besides, how could they have possibly gotten access to this account? I’m fairly certain no one knows you’re here and even if some long-lost relative was looking for you, they’d never know to search within our vampire society. They couldn’t even if they knew about it. None of this makes sense.”
“Is there a way to see more details on this transaction? There must be, right?”
“Hmm...there’s nothing here, but sometimes calling customer service can offer more insight. Want to try it? Chances are they’ll be able to see the details in their records since it was a wire.”
“Ok, let’s do it! I feel like this is a detective investigation now.” Kei gets excited.
“Alright, I’ll get you to a representative, but after that you’ll have to do the talking.”
“Ok, got it!” Kei responds excitedly. This is the most fun she’s had all week.
Nadia dials a number and presses multiple numbers in intervals as she follows the prompts. Finally, she hands Kei the phone just as a woman speaks through it. “Thank you for calling Vampire City Financial. May I please have your name and date of birth for verification?”
“Uh, yes. My name is Keiko Anne Miller, and my birthday is May 8th, 20XX.”
“Thank you, Miss Miller. I’ve been able to verify you. How may I help you today?”
“Well, I was reviewing my account and noticed that my balance is quite high. I see there was a deposit from around five years ago for one million Vampir, but it showed no additional details on the statement, so I was hoping you could tell me more. I don’t recall that deposit and want to confirm someone did not somehow do it in error. Could you please tell me the name of the person who sent this wire?”
She looks at Nadia for reassurance, and she gives her a thumbs up. She’s definitely got a knack for speaking professionally when the need arises. It honestly impresses Nadia.
“Yes, I’ve found the transaction you’re referring to. Please give me a moment to view the wire confirmation document.” The woman is silent for a moment, and Kei waits patiently. “Thank you for waiting, Miss Miller. I see the name here. It appears it may have been a relative of yours. The surname is the same.”
“Seriously?” Her professionalism slips. “I have no living relatives, so that must be a mistake. The surname being the same doesn’t confirm it’s a relative, does it? I mean, there must be many Millers in the world.”
“Yes...of course Miss. Please forgive me for making assumptions, I overstepped. You’re absolutely right. It seems the wire was an internal transfer, from someone with an account in this institution as well. The name listed on the sender’s account is Nicholas Paul Miller. Does that sound familiar to you, Miss?” Kei’s breath gets caught in her throat and her neck feels constricted. “Miss Miller?” The representative calls out to her, but Kei can’t respond. Her voice muted. “Miss Miller? Hello? Have I lost you? Miss Miller? Miss....”
Nadia watches as the previously spirited Kei becomes dreadfully pale and her face becomes stricken with panic and grief. She grips the phone tightly in her hands and shakes, as though in fear. “Keiko?!” When she doesn’t respond, Nadia reaches for her, but before she can make contact, Kei’s eyes roll to the back of her head and she collapses hard on the floor, falling unconscious.