Lea left the bank in a distraught state. After arriving home, she sat on the couch in a fetal position and wailed uncontrollably.
Most of the neighbors in Penny's apartment building knew Lea, whose reputation as a top-notch caterer preceded her. They were also aware that she and Penny were best friends. Thus, it did not take long for the news to get back to Penny about Lea's misfortunes.
A group of neighbors stopped her as she was coming into the building and told her about Lea going berserk in the bank. Their take on the situation was that she was fooling around with a man name Ebo, and he conned her out of one million dollars.
When Penny heard this, she could not believe that her best friend would betray her in such a manner.
Many of the neighbors had no idea that the man in the apartment next to Penny's was Ebo. They knew she and the tenant were doing each other. After all, they were the ones complaining about the ruckus that was coming out of their apartments.
Some neighbors never really knew who was living in that apartment and rarely saw anyone going in or out of the place, until he arrived. When they saw Ebo, people assumed he was the new occupant.
Neighbors had a tendency to keep to themselves and tend to their own business, but that all changed when the scandal erupted; all of a sudden, residents were chitchatting like old bosom friends.
Rumors started to surface that Lea was doing her best friend's boyfriend and bad karma descended on her. The talks became more vicious and vile.
Many of her clients accused her of thievery.
Her competitors rushed in to take her customers away and started to distribute flyers, offering discounted banquets to those left without a caterer for their future affairs.
Cancellations were coming in fast and furious.
There was even an article in a community newspaper accusing Lea of putting out false statements that Ebo took her money. Instead, the writer suggested, She hid that money to dodge Uncle Sam.
The finger pointing just added more fuel to the fire.
By now, Lea had fallen on hard times. Her bills were escalating, and she was falling behind in her mortgage payments. She was too embarrassed to face Penny who was avoiding her like the plague.
Civil suits were popping up faster than locusts swarming over crops. The problems were so overwhelming that Lea had disappeared. Many wondered where she went; for all purposes, she was broke and on the streets.
After months of anguish, Penny got over Ebo's dishonesty and Lea's deceitfulness, but she could have been the one financially ruined. Fate was on her side.