Adam woke up on the cold, tiled floor of his kitchen, hung over and stiff. Before he finally fell asleep he had grabbed his backup phone from Eleanor's office, the one he bought her before she got promoted and got her own work phone. He logged into his Zenith banking app for the fifth time, hoping it would give him access. "Zenith Bank — Your Potential, Optimised." The slogan faded in, dissolving into the gold and black diamond logo. His Platinum Employee status had once felt like a badge of honour. He turned his head and waited for it to transition to the home screen.
He clicked on his savings account - still locked. He clicked on his personal account - locked. He tried the joint savings account that both he and Eleanor had kept open after they paid for their wedding and honeymoon - locked. "Shit. If Elle sees this, she'll start asking questions."
'Withdrawal declined - Wed, 17:52 '. 'Withdrawal declined - Wed, 18:47'. 'Withdrawal declined - Wed, 20:12'. Each message was brief, but looked beautiful in the app — Zenith's trademark style: professional varnish masking corporate indifference. They'd frozen his credit card, his main account, each savings account too. The lifestyle optimisation engine had optimised him right into insolvency.
The only money Adam could get his hands on quickly was in his joint savings account, but even if he could access the £53,855.12 in there, it would only buy him a week to find a way of making fifty grand every week for..."it's gonna take me the best part of a year to pay him off. I can't. I need a way to get rid of him." He didn't even know if he'd get his accounts back in time, as Aldridge had demanded first payment in less than 48 hours.
"One problem at a time," he muttered.
"Morning CILLA. Are you there?"
"Always, Adam. How can I help?"
"Yeah don't I know it." Adam checked the time on his phone 'Thurs - 09:13'.
"I need cash quickly. Cash that Aldridge can't fuck with, like he did my accounts. It's almost like he wanted me to fail. But, if that's the case, why not just go ahead and blow me up to Eleanor? Focus Adam. Focus." Adam firmly jammed his fist into the side of his head.
"Ok. I need to get fifty grand before Friday. Aldridge still hasn't sent me the bank deets yet. He either knows my accounts are still frozen, or he's waiting to see if I crack first. Well fuck that. If I can get my hands on the cash, I can hand it off to him personally. But fifty grand, man. It's not life changing but, it's not pocket change either."
"Adam. You should tell Eleanor. She came home late last night and found you passed out in the kitchen. She tried to wake you but, you were unresponsive. She sent the staff home this morning before she left. She expressed concern about your condition and reason for being so heavily intoxicated last night. I know that confessing to her will likely be very traumatic for both of you, but what you are attempting to do is going to compound the hurt you've already caused."
"Fuck, CILLA. Since when did you install an empathy plugin? I don't need a lecture about what I've done-been, doing. I didn't know it would play out this way. I love her so damn much."
"She loves you too, Adam. Martin Aldridge is an unquantified threat, with seemingly full access to your digital life and is determined to leverage both his access and his knowledge to trap you. You should report the blackmail to the authorities."
"You really shouldn't give up your day-job, CILLA. Therapist is not your strong suit."
"Adam, you have a family who-"
"That's it! CILLA, call 'mum'."