Chapter 35
After saying what I needed to, I turned and headed into the building. Margaret suddenly grabbed
my arm.
Kevin, who had been standing behind me, rushed forward and shoved her away. “Why are you
pulling on a young woman like that?”
Margaret’s face twisted with fury “Ah, I get it now You must be her new lover, huh? What are you, in your 40s? You’re old enough to be her father! She brought you here to back her up and bully my
family, didn’t she?”
I ignored her and walked straight into the building, taking the elevators upstairs. Margaret didn’t
seem to notice that my vision had returned. Instead she was too busy arguing with Kevin.
When
the elevator doors opened to Benjamin’s apartment, I took out a key, unlocked the door, and
stepped inside. Benjamin was sprawled out on the couch, snoring heavily and drunk as usual.
I went into the small, windowless storage room where I kept a few clothes and some of the worthless keepsakes my parents had left me. I packed them all into a bag. Then, I went into Margaret’s bedroom, took out all the gold necklaces and rings, and stuffed them into the pocket of Benjamin’s coat while he slept.
I was just about to leave when Margaret came storming upstairs, her face red with anger. “Who gave you permission to take things from this house?” she shouted, waking Benjamin.
Still half–asleep, Benjamin cursed at her without even opening his eyes. Margaret flinched and lowered her voice, too scared to keep yelling at me
Holding my lute, I pushed past her and left the apartment. Margaret noticed her bedroom door wide open and rushed inside. By the time I was downstairs and sitting in the car, I could hear her furious shouting
“You little thief! You stole my gold necklaces and rings, didn’t you? Just you wait–I’m calling the police right now! You’re going to jail!”
I rolled down the car window slightly and said, “I didn’t steal anything. I only took what was mine to begin with.”
Margaret was beside herself with rage. She grabbed her phone, called the police, and then threw herself in front of the car, refusing to let us leave
I sighed and turned to Kevin in the driver’s seat, who kept glancing at his watch. “I’m really sorry.
I didn’t think retrieving my things would take this long.”
“It’s not your fault, Ms. Sutton. Your relatives are just too much.
The police arrived quickly. Margaret was still lying in front of the car. “They stole my gold
Chapter 35
necklaces and rings!” she cried. “Four necklaces and three rings! Search them! Search the car-
they must be hiding them inside!”
Kevin calmly got out of the car and handed his business card to the officers. One of them gave
Margaret a skeptical look and said, “Let’s check the scene first. Please take us to your apartment.”
Before Margaret could lead them upstairs, Benjamin stumbled out of the building, his steps unsteady. As soon as he saw Margaret, he slapped her hard across her face. “You left the door open again, huh? Trying to freeze me to death? I could hear you shouting all the way upstairs! What are you yelling about now?”
I caught a glimpse of one of the gold necklaces poking out of Benjamin’s coat pocket. The officers noticed it too. Without hesitation, they restrained him and retrieved the four necklaces and three. rings from his pockets.
The crowd around us fell silent.
Benjamin, fresh out of trouble with the police, panicked when he saw them again. His face went pale, and he tried to run, but the officers didn’t miss a beat. Seeing his reaction, they tightened their grip on him even more.
“Did you steal these necklaces and rings?”
“Steal? I didn’t steal anything!”
Margaret immediately began wailing, throwing herself to the ground. “You ungrateful man! I’ve been covering for you all this time, and this is how you repay me? Stealing my necklaces and rings?”
Benjamin’s expression darkened. “What nonsense are you spewing now? When did I ever steal from you, you crazy woman? Did you call the cops on me? You idiot!”
“These are mine! All of them! How dare you take my things? I’ve slaved away for this family, and this is the thanks I get?”
Benjamin sneered, “I didn’t take anything. But even if I did, so what? Everything in that house belongs to me! The necklaces, the rings–they’re a mine! If I want something, you’ll give it to me!”
The police quickly realized this was a family dispute. Frustrated, they began mediating the situation.
Meanwhile, the neighbors whispered and laughed among themselves, thoroughly entertained by the spectacle.
Cleared of any suspicion, I got back into the car. Kevin started the engine, and we drove away. Throughout the entire ordeal, no one noticed that my vision had returned.
