“Are you sure this is your house?" the female officer asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
Their biological daughter gets kidnapped, and the family is throwing a party?-
Yvonne sighed dramatically. "Oh, you know, my kidnapping is such a trivial matter. Why should it get in the way of my parents celebrating my foster sister''s birthday? Please don''t mind us, it''s just how we are."
The female officer was speechless.
The other officers exchanged uneasy nces.
The wail of the siren finally pierced the lively atmosphere of the party.
George Spencer and his wife, Teresa James, were standing beside their beloved daughter, Queena Spencer, preparing to cut a towering three-tiered birthday cake.
Their faces fell the moment they saw Yvonne walk in nked by a squad of police officers. A ripple of murmurs spread through the guests.
"Yvonne, you''re finally back!" Queena was the first to react. She rushed to Yvonne''s side, taking her hand affectionately. Her voice was gentle, but her words wereced with reproach. "You can''t keep being so reckless, Yvonne. Pretending to be kidnapped like that... you had Mom and Dad so worried."
Queena then turned her gaze to the officers. "Are these... hired actors?" she asked hesitantly. "I know you were upset that Mom and Dad threw me a party, but you can''t bring people here to ruin it. Think of the family''s reputation!"
Yvonne coolly sized up the girl before her. Queena wore a stunning diamond tiara and a couture gown, her face a mask of innocent concern. But her eyes darted around, glinting with cunning calction.
Yvonne yanked her hand away in disgust.
Queena seized the opportunity, stumbling backward as if she''d been pushed.
Jeffrey Spencer, who was standing right behind her, caught her in his arms, his eyes shing with fury as he red at Yvonne.
"Haven''t you had enough, Yvonne? Just because we celebrated Queena''s birthday first, you throw this tantrum? Mom and Dad already promised to throw you a party next week. What more do you want? Do you have to make everyone miserable to be happy? Ugh—"
Before Jeffrey could finish, Yvonne''s handshed out, and the sharp crack of a p echoed through the room.
So noisy. If you can''t speak like a decent human being, then just shut up.
"You dare hit me?" Jeffrey stared at her, his face a mixture of shock and rage.
"Oh, you had a bug on your face," Yvonne said, her expression a perfect picture of innocence. "I just got it for you."
"I see you''ve been spoiled rotten by this family. Well, today I''m going to teach you a lesson!” Jeffrey snarled, raising his hand to strike her.
But Yvonne was faster. She ducked behind the female officer.
As Jeffrey''s arm swung forward, the officer caught it, twisted it, and shoved him back. He stumbled, nearly falling, cutting a pathetic figure.
"Mr. Spencer, I should remind you that assaulting a police officer carries serious legal consequences." The officer then produced her badge and a notepad.
"We are investigating the kidnapping of Ms. Yvonne Jones," she
announced, her voice crisp and
professional. "And we require your family''s cooperation."
She nced at her colleague, who had already switched on a recording device, before continuing her questioning.
"ording to the sworn statement
of one of the kidnappers, they contacted Ms. Jones''s rtives after the abduction-specifically, a Mr. George Spencer, a Ms Teresa Spencer, and her brother, MJeffrey Spencer."
The officer''s eyes were cold and steady. "Did you, or did you not, tell the kidnappers that you shouldn''t have brought her back and that she should have died out there? And did you, or did you not, call her a disgrace and tell them to just kill her?"
The Spencers, who had assumed Yvonne''s kidnapping was another one of her
staged dramas, were now in a state of panic.
"I thought... I thought she was lying about being kidnapped... I..." Jeffrey
stammered, trying to exin, but the officer cut him off.
"Mr. Spencer, please don''t waste our time with irrelevantmentary. A simple ''yes''
or ''no'' will suffice."