Chapter 1Deadly Prank: April Fool’s Office Killing

On April Fool's Day, the entire office decided to target Helen, the new hire, for a prank.

"We'll pretend she won the Employee of the Month award," the manager said, pointing to a metal bucket hanging from the ceiling. "The moment she steps onto the stage, someone pulls the cord, and she gets drenched."

But the joke took a dark turn. The rope snapped, and the heavy iron bucket tore free, hurtling down along with the water.

Before everyone’s eyes, the bucket struck Helen hard on the head. She collapsed in a heap, a pool of crimson blooming around her on the floor.

Nora, the receptionist, knelt down and tentatively checked Helen’s pulse. A second later, she let out a piercing scream.

Helen was dead.

Suddenly, every single person in the room was an accomplice.

"We have to call the police! Right now!" My hands shook so violently I could barely hold my phone. "Someone is dead!"

"Call the cops?" Andrew, the manager, grabbed my wrist in a vice grip. "Are you out of your mind? You want to spend the rest of your life behind bars?"

His roaring voice left me stunned, staring at him blankly.

Around us, the room descended into panic.

"What do we do? I'm too young for prison!"

"My kid starts college next year! Who's going to pay his tuition if I'm locked up?"

The sudden tragedy broke everyone's composure.

"Damn it!" Andrew cursed, kicking a desk hard. "How is she already dead? It was just a stupid bucket!"

"It was a heavy iron bucket filled with water, and it was hung way too high," Nora sobbed, her voice trembling. "It was a horrible accident."

Refusing to accept reality, Andrew suddenly ran onto the stage like a madman.

He pinned Helen down, slapping her cheeks repeatedly. "Get up! Quit playing dead! Get the hell up!"

Drops of blood splattered onto the back of his hand.

Nora covered her mouth, screaming, while the others shrank back in horror.

"Stop it!" I couldn't watch any longer. I rushed forward and shoved Andrew away. "Stop touching her! She's gone!"

Swallowing the rising bile and terror in my throat, I slipped off my cardigan and gently covered Helen's face.

Andrew sat on the floor, panting heavily, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"I used to be a nurse," Nora wept. "I checked. She really isn't breathing. She's dead."

Brenda, one of the senior employees, suddenly stood up and pointed an accusing finger at Andrew. "This was your sick idea. You killed her! You're the one who should take the blame!"

The room went quiet for a beat, and then everyone quickly turned on Andrew.

"She's right! Andrew set up the stage. I had nothing to do with it."

"I never liked these pranks anyway. He forced us to participate."

"Andrew always had a grudge against Helen. What if he did this on purpose?"

"Shut your mouths!" Andrew snarled, his cold gaze sweeping across the room. "You think you can just pin this on me?"

He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and slammed it onto a desk. "You were all brainstorming in the group chat. Now you want to play innocent?"

I peered at the screen. There was indeed a private chat group.

Everyone had been eagerly discussing how to humiliate Helen for April Fool's.

The worst part was, I had never even been added to that group.

Brenda braced herself and kept arguing. "So what? We were just talking! Nobody expected you to actually go through with it."

"Exactly. It's on him."

"The security cameras must have caught everything. He did it."

I looked at Helen’s lifeless body, a heavy weight pressing down on my chest.

"Let's just call the police," I said, reaching for my phone again. "Whatever the consequences are, we should face them together."

"Face them?" Andrew kicked my hand. The phone flew across the room, smashing against the wall, its screen shattering into pieces.

I gasped, falling back onto the floor.

He pulled a pocket knife from his trousers and drove it deep into the wooden table. The hilt vibrated with a low hum.

"My son is applying for the police academy. I cannot have a record! I am not going to prison!"

Andrew stared at the crowd, his eyes wild. Everyone cowered like frightened rabbits.

No one dared to speak.

"If this gets out, none of you are walking away clean," Andrew hissed. "You're all accomplices. Even if you don't do time, the public backlash will destroy your lives. What will the headlines say? 'Office bullies coworker to death on April Fool's.' Good luck ever finding another job."

Nora curled up on the floor, weeping hysterically.

Brenda's voice trembled. "Then... what do we do?"

Andrew stared at the dark stain on the stage, silent for a long moment.

"Unless..."

"Helen tripped and fell."