A Clean Getaway

My name's Zoe Smith, and I'm a full-time housewife. On Wednesday afternoon, my best friend Ginny Sullivan suddenly asked me to meet her at a five-star hotel restaurant downtown. That was quite strange. Ginny's my closest friend. We're both married, living lives trapped by our in-laws and daily chores. Before, we'd always meet at cheap cafes, order a couple of lattes, and gossip all afternoon. When I got to the restaurant, Ginny was already sitting by the window. She was wearing a silk dress I'd never seen before, her makeup flawless—totally unlike her usual bare-faced look. "Zoe, sit down." She smiled at me, with a kind of ease in her tone that I couldn't understand. I sat down, looking at the menu, feeling a bit overwhelmed. "Ginny, this place is way too luxury. Can we go somewhere else?" Ginny didn't say a word and just called the waiter to order a few fancy dishes, even opened a bottle of red wine. "I'm treating today. Don't worry about it." She handed the menu back to the waiter, her eyes steady and determined. I was even more confused. Before, she always complained to me about her stingy mother-in-law; her husband handed over his entire salary to his mother, and she even needed permission to buy a lousy fifty-dollar T-shirt. But today, she was blowing money like there was no tomorrow. When the food came, Ginny barely touched it and pulled out a bag, sliding it over to me. "This is for you, a birthday gift." I froze—my birthday wasn't for another three months. What shocked me even more was that it was the latest model from a luxury brand, priced at eighty thousand at the store. "Ginny, this is way too expensive. I can't accept it." I quickly pushed the bag back, my palms sweating. "You have to keep it." Ginny held my hand firmly, her eyes pleading, "After all these years of friendship, what's a bag? Just promise me you'll take good care of yourself from now on." Her tone was weird, like she was laying out her last words. I pushed her, asking if something happened, but she changed the subject and just kept urging me to eat and drink. When we said goodbye, she kept insisting I keep the bag and said we might not stay in touch much moving forward. I came home clutching the heavy bag, feeling all unsettled inside. The moment I stepped in, my husband Kevin spotted the designer bag in my hand. "Where did this bag come from?" His tone was guarded. "Ginny gave it to me." I told him the truth. "Ginny? Where would she get the money for such an expensive bag?" Kevin frowned and snapped at me, "You actually accepted it? Send it back as soon as possible, don't bring trouble." I tried to explain, but he didn't listen and just went straight to report it to my mother-in-law. The moment my mother-in-law heard, she came out and pointed at me, yelling, "Zoe, I told you not to hang out with shady people! Ginny probably got that bag while messing around with others!" I felt so wronged inside but didn't dare say a word back. Friday night, I was cooking in the kitchen when suddenly there was a knock on the door. I opened it, and it was Ginny's husband, Johnny. His face was pale, eyes fierce, and the moment he stepped in, he looked around anxiously: "Is Ginny with you?" "No, she's not." His expression scared me. Johnny sneered, "She's gone missing! Left a divorce agreement and just took off!" I was so shocked I couldn't find the words. "You didn't know?" Johnny glared at me, "She took off when she was barely recovered from childbirth! Was it you who pushed her to do it?" Only then did I realize she'd just had a baby—before when I saw her, her belly was a bit round, but I thought she'd just put on weight. "I didn't, I honestly didn't know she wanted a divorce." I quickly tried to explain. Johnny clearly didn't believe me. He sized me up and suddenly noticed the designer bag on the sofa. "That bag was from Ginny?" He stormed over, grabbed the bag, and started rifling through it. "Yes..." "That's my private savings she used!" Johnny shouted, smashing the bag on the floor. "That woman stole my money to buy you this bag and then ran off! You owe me!" I stared at the bag on the floor, both furious and desperate. Furious that he was blaming me without proof, and desperate about Ginny's safety. She was just recovered from childbirth, her body still fragile. Where on earth could she have gone alone?