227: Chapter 227

Chapter 227

2Kate was disappointed but not surprised.

Of course, it wasn't surprising for the mother of a lazy and manipulative asshole to be in cahoot with her son. Matt must've gotten those traits from somewhere, and definitely not from his father. 

Kate remembered Matt's late father.

He was an honest man, a bit plain and awkward, but he was a hard worker that was well-loved by the community. 

But his wife?

"Heh, I should've known…" Kate sneered. 

Mary always had a bad reputation in their small community. She was overbearing and entitled. She often had a scuffle with fellow moms and was a gossip monger. 

Of course, Kate willingly looked over her flaws and tolerated Mary because she happened to date Mary's son. However, she had always hated her mother-in-law to the bone since day one. 

Kate had a small guess of why Mary would break into her family's house when her mother was hospitalized. 

"There is no way Mom can contact her. I already told the nurse to confiscate the phone and stop her from making any random contact with Matt and Mary because they are bad news," Kate murmured. "So if the motive is not Hilda's request, then it must be about money."

"Since Mary is a retiree and relies on Matt to send her money, which ultimately leads to me since I'm the sole breadwinner of that damned family," Kate rolled her eyes, tired of the idea that she had to feed that lazy bastard who couldn't get a damn job. "But is she desperate enough for money that she would steal from my family's house? I remember she has a retirement fund that should be enough to last until she is in her 90s."

Kate didn't know the true motive behind Mary's action, but she still wouldn't let that greedy old bitch take anything from her home.

So she called her good friend, who happened to be the community police officer in her hometown, Bernard.

—

"H—Hello, Kate, why are you calling me? Is there anything I can do to help?" Bernard asked nervously. They had been good friends since high school because they were on the same team during a math olympiad. He was a weak, scrawny kid before, so it was surprising for Kate that he actually became a cop. 

'Well, he still doesn't seem to lose his nervousness. It's cute,' Kate thought.

"Hi, Bern. It's been a while since we talked," Kate said. The last time she had contact with Bern was when she asked him to help escort Hilda out of the house, so she could be transferred to the nursing facility that Kate had appointed, far from their small town. 

"Y—yeah, it's been a while…" Bernard agreed. "Uh… are you doing well, Kate?"

"I'm doing well," Kate replied perfunctorily. Not wanting to delay this further, she asked, "Bernard, can you check on my family house?"

"I can, but what's wrong with your house? Nobody lives there, right?"

"I've gotten a report from my neighbor that Mary is breaking into my house and starts taking out many expensive pieces of furniture," Kate said. Of course, she had no proof that happened. But it was better to give Bernard a bigger motive to come and check, and since Mary's reputation was bad in the community, any reports about her would be taken more seriously. 

"Mary? You mean your mother-in-law?"

"Haha… yeah," Kate rolled her eyes. She couldn't wait to take that title out of their relationship. "She is my mother-in-law, so I don't want to trust that report yet. But if you see her trying to take out any furniture and sell it, you should know that neither I nor my mother give her permission to sell our furniture."

"Are you saying that she is stealing your house's furniture?" Bernard asked as he got serious. He thought it was bizarre for a mother-in-law to steal all of her daughter-in-law's possessions, but Mary was an exception.

She had always been the public enemy because of her antics of being a huge bitch, so Bernard wasn't all surprised about getting a complaint about her.

But not to the extent of stealing. 

This would put a big dent in Mary's already low reputation. 

"She's the only one who has the spare key. She has all the ability to trespass and steal," Kate said. "Look, I don't want you to arrest her without proof. But if you caught her red-handed, would you be kind enough to process it at the police station? Because it is trespassing and thievery."

"I can do that. I'll check your home and see if I can catch her red-handed," Bernard agreed. "I will also bring a partner in case she resists."

"That would be great. Thank you so much, Bernard. I know I can rely on you."

Bernard, at the other end of the call, blushed when he got a compliment from Kate. 

He had seen Kate before when she visited her mother's house about a year ago, and she looked gorgeous. It was unfortunate that she got married to her childhood sweetheart.

But still, Bernard felt something when Kate talked to him with her gentle yet commanding voice. She became a completely different person once she left their small town to Los Angeles, which was a good thing… and a bad one, since Bernard couldn't see her more often than he wished. 

"It's my pleasure to help you," Bernard replied meekly. "I… uh… I should get going now. Don't worry, I will check on your apartment today—"

"—Not today, tomorrow morning," Kate interrupted. "Check it tomorrow morning. I'm sure she would've cleaned some of the furniture before selling it."

"Got it. I'll call you tomorrow," Bernard said.

"Mhm, thanks, Bernie."

Beep.

—

"And done. I'm sure Bernard will call me with good news tomorrow," Kate smirked. She wondered what kind of face Mary would show when she got caught red-handed. "I should probably send Bernard something as a sign of gratitude. He has done so much for me."

"Okay, since the mother is done for. It's time for me to handle the son."

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