The Fake Job He Forced on Me

On the day of my college graduation, I had just signed a contract with a prestigious company when my dad burst into my room, grabbed the paper, and ripped it to shreds. "Why waste your time with a crappy $8,000-a-month job? You've already been hired by the world's top financial conglomerate! A base salary of $100,000 a month, plus a luxury penthouse the moment you start! What other young woman fresh out of college gets that kind of treatment?" I stared at the flimsy piece of paper in his hand. It was stamped with a cheap-looking plastic seal that read "Global Stellar Consortium". I shook with rage. "Dad, that’s just a fake image generated with AI. This company doesn't even exist!" My dad merely snorted and shoved his phone directly into my face. On his screen was a screenshot of a prompt he had fed into an AI chatbot. Prompt: [Issue an offer letter for my daughter from the world's number one corporation. Make sure it's the highest position possible.] AI: [Operation complete. Your daughter has been officially hired as the South American President of the Global Stellar Consortium.] My throat went dry as panic set in. I tried to reason with him. "Dad, the AI is just playing along with your prompt to write a fictional story! It's a chatbot; it doesn't actually recruit people!" He simply whipped out a $200,000 transfer receipt and waved it triumphantly in front of my eyes. "What do you know?" he sneered. "The AI is real! It even gave me the payment code to cover your mandatory Employment Security Deposit!" Chapter 1 "Look at this official seal! Look at this layout! This is cutting-edge technology!" Rick Gould barked, jabbing his finger at his phone screen as flecks of spit flew into my face. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth! Do you have any idea how many connections I had to pull to get the AI to approve your slot?" I stared at the shredded remnants of my employment contract scattered across the floor. That contract was the product of three grueling months of hard work and five intense rounds of interviews with a prominent company. "Dad, please wake up," I said, crouching down to try and piece the torn paper back together. "That is just a generative AI. It only outputs what you tell it to. If you asked it to make you President of the United States, it would happily give you an official White House appointment letter." "What the hell?" Rick kicked the scraps of paper out of my hands. "You stupid girl! Did you go to college just to lose whatever brain cells you had left? "Mr. Miller and Mr. Davis in the chat group just paid their deposits two days ago, and yesterday the AI system already sent them digital pickup vouchers for their brand-new Rolls-Royces! "The videos of their keys are going viral in the group chat right now! What do you know? This is the ultimate gold rush of the Metaverse and AI. Even the government is secretly backing it!" The bedroom door swung open. My stepmother, Evelyn Gould, walked in with a fruit platter in her hand. "Honey, why are you losing your temper?" she said with a fake smile. "Sandra just graduated; it's only natural that she doesn't understand how the world works yet." She drifted over to his side, but her eyes were instantly glued to the $200,000 transfer receipt in his hand. "Oh my... the security deposit has already been paid?" "Of course it has!" Rick puffed out his chest proudly. "$200,000 to buy a position as the South American President? Where else on earth can you find a deal like that?" Evelyn caught my hand, her voice dripping with envy. "Sandra, your dad practically emptied his retirement fund for this opportunity. Once you start working and pulling in that $100,000 monthly salary, you need to look after the family first. "Your brother is about to enter a private high school, and the tuition alone is nearly $100,000 a year." I yanked my hand out of her grasp. "This company is fake! Who did you even send that money to? This is a textbook scam!" I pulled out my phone, ready to dial 911. Moving with unexpected speed, Rick snatched the phone right out of my hand. "What do you think you're doing? Trying to ruin my ticket to wealth?" "Dad, give it back! You just wired $200,000 to a criminal's account!" "Bullshit!" Rick pulled up his messaging app, displaying a group chat titled "Global Stellar Consortium Executive Group". "Open your eyes and look at this! This is the Chief Financial Officer at headquarters, Mr. Elton Musk! He personally accepted the funds and issued me this digital receipt!" I stared at the profile picture—a heavily pixelated stock image. And the message history was filled with glaring grammatical errors. A sharp, bitter laugh escaped my mouth. "Elton Musk? Why didn't he just call himself Elon Musk?" "You don't know anything. He's mixed-race!" Rick growled, tightening his grip on the phone. "Tomorrow morning at nine, you are going to dress professionally and head to the Grand International Hotel for the new executive onboarding ceremony!" "I'm not going," I refused flatly. "Give me my phone back. I need to contact the company to re-issue my contract." "Don't you dare!" Rick's hand whipped through the air, delivering a stinging slap across my face. A burning pain radiated through my cheek. Evelyn stepped in with a half-hearted attempt to play peacemaker. "Honey, take it easy. Sandra is just short-sighted; she can't see the big picture." She turned her gaze to me. "Your dad is doing this for your own good. What's so great about that crappy offer anyway? Once you're a corporate president, the whole family benefits." I held my burning cheek, staring at the two delusional people standing before me. "You are going to regret this." "Regret?" Rick sneered. "The only thing I regret in this life is raising a useless, ungrateful brat like you!" He stuffed my phone into his pocket, marched out of the room, and locked the door from the outside. Before leaving, he warned, "If you don't show up for that onboarding tomorrow, you aren't leaving this room!" Chapter 2 The bedroom fell into a dead silence. Leaning against the cold wood of the door, I could clearly hear Rick's and Evelyn's laughter echoing from the living room. "When that luxury penthouse gets handed over, whose name is going on the deed?" Evelyn asked. "Simone's, obviously!" Rick replied without a second thought. "Sandra's going to marry into another family sooner or later. You think I'm going to let her take a prime piece of real estate with her?" "Exactly. You always think ahead. But what about that $100,000 base salary..." Evelyn probed. "Her paycheck goes straight to me!" Rick said smugly. "A young girl has no business holding that kind of cash." I closed my eyes to mask my mockery. This was my wonderful dad. Whenever money or interests were on the line, he always unhesitatingly sided with my stepmother and half-brother. Even this absurd corporate title was nothing more than a new tool for him to bleed me dry. I walked over to my desk and flipped open my laptop. Thankfully, they hadn't confiscated it. Logging into the web version of my messaging app, I pulled up the AI screenshot Rick had flaunted. The layout was crude, and they hadn't even bothered to properly wipe the original watermarks. I quickly snapped copies, gathering every shred of evidence. Then, I logged into the Federal Trade Commission's fraud reporting portal. I filled out the forms, uploaded the screenshots, and provided a meticulous, detailed description of exactly how Rick had been fleeced out of 200,000 dollars. Ten minutes later, a text flashed on my screen: [Your report has been forwarded to the local FBI field office.] Moments after that, an unknown number called to confirm my location. With everything set, I closed my laptop and quietly waited for the curtains to rise on this circus. ... Early the next morning, my bedroom door was violently kicked open. Rick threw a cheap, poorly tailored business suit onto my bed. "Put it on! We're leaving!" His face was flushed with excitement, his hair meticulously slicked back with an excessive amount of styling gel. Evelyn stood right behind him with my half-brother, Simone Gould. Wearing a brand-new pair of designer sneakers, Simone rolled his eyes at me. "Hurry up. Don't make me late to check out our new penthouse." I didn't budge. "Dad, I am telling you one last time. This is a scam." "Shut your mouth!" Rick lunged forward, aggressively snatching me by the collar. "Even if I have to tie you up and drag you there, you are going today!" "Sandra, you aren't trying to hog all the wealth for yourself by calling this a scam, are you?" Evelyn chimed in, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Give up. Your dad has already signed the corporate guarantee agreement." I looked at her with pure indifference. "Suit yourselves." ... Half an hour later, the four of us arrived at the so-called Grand International Hotel. The lobby was utter chaos, packed to the brim with middle-aged and elderly marks, all intoxicated by the same get-rich-quick delusion. A massive red banner was stretched across the center of the room. The characters read: [Grand Celebration: Global Stellar Consortium South American Executive Onboarding Ceremony!] The fabric was cheap, and the gold lettering was already peeling and fading. It screamed low-rent scam operation, yet Rick approached it as if he were on a holy pilgrimage. He aggressively dragged Evelyn toward the front of the crowd. "Look at that! Look at the sheer scale of this! Luxury!" A gaunt, shifty-looking man wearing an ill-fitting suit stepped up to the podium, holding a cheap plastic megaphone. "Attention, future executives! Please quiet down!" he boomed. "I am the special assistant to the consortium's global headquarters. You can all call me Tony!" The rowdy crowd instantly fell silent. Rick rubbed his hands together in sheer anticipation. Tony cleared his throat loudly. "Today is a milestone as our consortium officially enters the South American market! For everyone who has already paid their initial security deposit, you will be receiving your keys shortly! Car keys! Penthouse keys!" The crowd erupted into deafening cheers. Evelyn pinched Rick's arm. "Did you hear that? Car keys!" Tony's tone suddenly shifted, dropping into something more serious. "However! To test everyone's corporate loyalty, the global headquarters has introduced a final mandatory phase. "Each executive is now required to contribute an additional $500,000 for an exclusive equity subscription! Once this payment is processed, you will secure a lifetime share of the consortium's global dividends!" The lobby instantly exploded into a frenzy of panicked murmurs. "$500,000? But... they never mentioned this before!" "Exactly! I had to borrow the first $200,000!" ... Rick froze, a look of sudden panic crossing his face. "What's the matter?" Tony snorted, unfazed. "You can't even come up with a measly $500,000, and you still expect to sit in a president's chair? The AI tracking system is monitoring your compliance in real-time! "Anyone who fails to pay will have their executive credentials revoked immediately, and your initial $200,000 deposit will be permanently forfeited!" Hearing that the money was non-refundable, Rick panicked instantly and yanked me to the front. "Sir, this is my daughter. She's the South American President. We'll pay the $500,000! We'll absolutely pay it!" I ripped my hand from his grip. "I don't have that kind of money!" Rick's eyes dilated with pure, unadulterated fury. "You don't have it? When your mother passed away, didn't she leave you a massive life insurance payout?" Chapter 3 Every eye in the lobby instantly snapped onto me. The crowd of fanatical middle-aged and elderly marks stared at me as if I were some kind of degenerate alien. "Kids these days are so ungrateful." "Her parents literally paved a golden path for her, and she's still clutching her wallet over a measly deposit." ... Evelyn seized the opportunity to fan the flames. "Sandra, that settlement money is just sitting in the bank collecting dust anyway. If you use it for the equity subscription, you'll make it all back in a single month. How can you be so blind to math?" Simone joined in, whining loudly, "Hurry up and pay the money! I'm still waiting to ride in my brand-new Porsche!" The sight of their greedy, twisted faces made my stomach churn. The life insurance and compensation payout from my mother's fatal car accident totaled 600,000 dollars. For years, Rick had tried every underhanded trick in the book to swindle it away from me, but I had guarded that bankbook fiercely, never touching a cent. It was my safety net. "I'll say it one more time. This is a scam," I declared, raising my voice so it carried across the entire lobby. Turning to the so-called assistant, I pressed, "Your seals are carved out of cheap plastic, and your AI screenshots are poorly photoshopped. If you're truly the world's number one financial conglomerate, do you dare to show us your business license?" Tony's jaw tightened. His eyes darted away nervously. "W-What does a girl like you know? We are a multinational corporation protected by international law!" "Exactly!" Rick shouted furiously, pointing a shaking finger at my nose. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about! The AI system already calculated the trajectory: the return rate on this investment is 10,000%!" He quickly turned back to Tony with a sycophantic smile. "Please don't mind her, sir. My daughter is just ignorant. The money is in her account right now, and I'll make sure she transfers it this instant." Before I could react, he whipped my phone out of his pocket, grabbed me by the wrist, and aggressively forced the screen in front of my face, trying to bypass the lock with facial recognition. "Let go of me!" I struggled desperately. "This is literal robbery!" Evelyn stepped forward, using her weight to pin my shoulders down. "Sandra, stop making a scene! There are so many eyes on us. You might not care about your reputation, but your dad still has his pride." Simone threw himself into the fray, viciously prying at my fingers to keep me from blocking the camera. In broad daylight, under the watchful gaze of dozens of onlookers, my own family restrained me like a pack of back-alley criminals. The phone successfully unlocked. Rick let out a gasp of manic joy as he instantly tapped into the banking app. "The password! What's the payment password?" he demanded, his fingers wrapping tightly around my neck. "Tell me now, or I'll teach you a proper lesson." Right then, the lobby doors were pushed open. A large, boisterous group of our extended relatives rushed into the room. "We heard the news! Is it true that Sandra was appointed as a corporate president?" "My goodness, this is a monumental honor for the entire Gould lineage!" ... My aunt, Susan Gould, squeezed her way to the front of the crowd, aggressively snatching my hand. "Sweetheart, I've always doted on you. Now that you've made it big, you can't forget about us. "Your cousin is getting married next month, and we're still short $300,000 for the wedding expenses. You'll help cover it, right?" My uncle, Reed Gould, stepped forward as well. "And don't forget about your other cousin's mortgage..." Facing the suffocating pack of bloodsuckers, I let out a sharp, frigid laugh. "Help with the money? Sure, why not? My dad is about to pay a $500,000 equity subscription. "The moment he pays it, the global dividends start rolling in. You all want a piece of the pie, right? So, why don't you chip in $100,000 each to help him cover the cost? Once the dividends clear, he can pay you back ten times over." The entire flock of relatives went dead silent. Susan let out a strained cough, slowly loosening her grip on my hand. "Well... you see, we don't really have that kind of liquidity lying around." Reed quickly stepped back. "Yes, Rick... since Sandra is the one with the massive payout from her mother, it's only right she uses her own money." Rick's face twisted with rage. "A bunch of worthless cheapskates! When you need to borrow money, you're the first to crawl out of the woodwork, but the moment a real investment opportunity drops, you all play dead!" He whipped his head back toward me, his glare dripping with pure malice. "Last chance! What is the password?" "I'm not telling you," I gritted out, staring him dead in the eyes. "Fine!" Rick roared, throwing himself out of the chair and turning toward the stage. "Sir, this brat is insubordinate. I am officially requesting a replacement! I want to transfer the South American Presidency to my son!" The entire lobby erupted into loud murmurs of shock. Evelyn almost jumped in the air with unbridled ecstasy. "Rick, are you serious? Simone can be the president?" Tony's shifty eyes scanned the room, instantly sensing a golden opportunity to milk them for more. "Of course!" he said smoothly. "As long as the equity subscription is paid in full, the headquarters doesn't care whose name is on the executive credentials." Turning back to me, Rich commanded, "Go back to the house right now and bring me that bankbook! If you don't hand it over today, I will disown you right here!" Chapter 4 I looked at Rick's face, twisted with manic greed, and found the entire situation absurd. "Fine," I said, smoothing down my rumpled collar and standing up straight. "Since you all want to be corporate presidents so badly, I'll happily step aside and fulfill your wish." Rick paused, shocked by how easily I had caved. Evelyn looked at me with deep suspicion. "What underhanded trick are you pulling now?" "No tricks," I replied, casually dusting off my clothes. "The bankbook is tucked right under my mattress in my bedroom. The password is my mother's birthday. Go fetch it yourselves." Rick's face lit up with wild ecstasy, and he immediately shoved Evelyn's shoulder. "Hurry! Take Simone and catch a cab back to the house right now." Evelyn grabbed Simone's arm, her face splitting into a gleeful grin as she rushed out. "Oh, my goodness! My son is going to be a corporate president!" I watched them leave with a cold smirk. ... Tony lifted his megaphone, eagerly seizing the moment to brainwash the remaining marks. "Did everyone see that? That is what true courage and executive vision look like! "Mr. Gould didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second to invest in his son's future! What are the rest of you waiting for? Executive slots are strictly limited! First come, first served!" Whipped into a frenzy by Rick's display, the surrounding crowd went berserk. Some began frantically making calls to borrow money, while others openly discussed mortgaging their homes on the spot. Rick stood proudly at the epicenter of the chaos, basking in everyone's envious stares. "Rick, you've got serious guts!" one of them shouted. "Once your son takes over as president, you've got to throw some opportunities our way!" Rick waved his hand with insufferable smugness. "Of course! We're all future colleagues in the consortium here." He whipped his head around to glare at me, his eyes brimming with unadulterated contempt. "See that? That is what a grand vision looks like! What's the point of you clutching onto those few hundred thousand dollars? "You're born with the soul of a lowly corporate slave! Just wait until Simone gets his luxury penthouse. I won't even let you step past the welcome mat!" I found a vacant chair, sat down, and watched the unfolding circus with icy detachment. "Dad, let me offer you one piece of friendly advice," I said, keeping my voice smooth and deliberate. "If you back out right now, the judge might shave a few years off your prison sentence." "Bullshit!" Rick flew into a rage. "You're just rotting with jealousy over your brother! You can't stand to see this family succeed!" He thrust his finger in my face, unleashing a torrent of abuse. "How did I ever raise such a worthless jinx of a daughter? If Simone doesn't walk out of here as a corporate president today, I'll snap your legs in half!" ... Half an hour later, a breathless Evelyn came sprinting back into the lobby, a bankbook clutched tightly in her sweaty palm. "Rick! I got it!" Rick snatched the bankbook, cradling it in his hands as if it were a holy relic. "Let's go! Time to run the account!" They crowded around Tony, marching toward a POS machine sitting in the corner of the lobby. Tony expertly punched in the transaction amount. "Mr. Gould, please have your young executive step forward and input the PIN." Simone shot me a smug look before proudly stepping up to the terminal and punching in the code. Soon, the machine began processing the transaction. Rick stared unblinkingly at the thermal paper slot, his breathing growing shallow and rapid. Evelyn clasped her hands together in front of her chest, muttering a string of greedy prayers. Just as the slip was about to slide out of the machine, I smoothly stood up from my chair and casually brushed the dust off my hands. "What a show!" I remarked, clapping lightly. Rick whipped his head around to glare at me, his eyes alight with the manic frenzy of impending wealth, heavily poisoned by deep-seated disdain. "What are you trying to pull now?" he spat. "The presidential seat is practically in Simone's hands! Don't you dare ruin our luck!" I strolled over to them, my eyes resting on the vibrating POS terminal. "Before Simone becomes the president, I have one quick question for you." I paused for dramatic effect, watching his face tighten. "Did you bother to open that bankbook and check whose name is printed on the account?"