Victoria shook her head. “This bank is a serious institution. We don’t entertain childish fraud. This check is old, filthy, and most likely fake. People like you don’t hold accounts with sums like this.”
A cold weight settled in Adrian’s stomach.
“Please just check the system. Type his name.”
“I’m not wasting my time,” she snapped.
Then she held the check up in front of him.
“This is what we do with fraud here. So you won’t try it again.”
The tearing sound was brutal.
Rrrrip.
The paper split in two. Adrian gasped, reaching forward—but she kept going, ripping the halves again and again.
The pieces fell like lifeless confetti onto the desk.
“No!” Adrian cried, sobbing openly. “What did you do? That was all we had! My grandma is going to die!”
The cry shattered the bank’s hush. Customers stared, annoyed by the disruption rather than the cruelty.
Victoria gestured sharply. “Tom! Security!”
A large guard approached.
“Remove him. And don’t let him back in. If he lingers, call the police.”
The guard gripped Adrian’s arm roughly. Adrian clung to the counter.
“My papers! Please!”
Victoria swept the torn pieces into the trash.
“Take him out.”