NOV. 5, ‘25 // told Sandy, "Don't let anyone in." Then he turned back to his computer screen. After two hours of intense work, David finally looked up, rubbing his eyes. "I can’t understand it,” he muttered to himself. “I just can’t get to the bottom of the problem. It’s a huge, tangled mess.” By the time five o'clock rolled around, David had come to the conclusion that he couldn’t solve the problem on his own. He was reaching for the phone to inform the chairman of the board of the situation when his hand suddenly froze. He stared, startled, at his computer screen. The information the computer had just coughed up was astonishing, to say the least. David spent a few minutes tapping furiously on his keyboard. Screen after screen displayed the same impossible information. "Enough for today," he finally decided. He flicked the switch to turn off the machine just as Sandy knocked on the door. “It’s closing time, Mr. Weinfeld,” she reminded him. David looked at her in a daze. "It's after five,” she repeated. "I understand," he mumbled. "You can go. I'll lock up when I leave." Sandy left the office, closing the door behind her. David’s gaze returned to his computer screen— black and quiet, for the first time today. Yet those impossible figures lurked just beneath the surface. David thought about the strange calls he had been receiving during the past few months. Someone was trying to warn him about the situation. At first he hadn't paid much attention to those warnings. Yes, he had taken the time to do a cursory check on the information, but he hadn't noticed anything peculiar. And then just last night, the caller had pleaded with him. "Do something before it’s too late,” he had whispered. “The problem is getting worse." "But I checked out everything," David insisted, "and nothing seems wrong." "You must have done a superficial examination," the man argued. "Had you done a thorough job, you would have seen that what I told you is true, and that the problem is becoming more complicated every day." David didn't sleep that night. The caller had sounded so convincing. He knew he would have to spend the next day searching for the truth. David came back to himself with a start. It was five-thirty. Sandy had gone home, and he had to leave as soon as possible, because in twenty minutes the building's doors would be hermetically sealed. Putting on his hat and coat, he rushed out of his office. As David passed the picture of his wife and daughters, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. They would be the ones to suffer the most from all this. Why hadn’t he taken those warnings more seriously? The elevator was empty, except for the guard, who nodded to him respectfully. Once outside, David quickly walked to the parking lot opposite the bank and jumped into his car. On his way home, he began to plan his next steps. He knew that he had to get to the root of the problem on his own. He knew that he had to get his wife and children to safety. And he knew that his entire life was about to change. 182
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