Chapter 6 - The Midnight Theft
Desperation makes toxic people dangerous.
On day twenty-eight, I woke up at 2:00 a.m. to the sound of hushed voices and clinking glass in the living room.
I quietly slipped out of bed, grabbing my phone. I didn't go downstairs. I opened the security app for the hidden cameras Richard had advised me to install throughout the common areas.
On my glowing screen, I watched Valerie stuffing my expensive silver cutlery, my antique crystal vases, and a jewelry box containing Thomas’s solid gold watch into a large duffel bag. Mark was nowhere to be seen. She was making a run for it, trying to steal whatever pawnable assets she could carry before the eviction deadline.
I didn't yell. I didn't confront her. I simply dialed 911.
“Yes, I’d like to report a burglary in progress,” I whispered into the phone. “The intruder is currently in my living room.”
Ten minutes later, the flashing red and blue lights illuminated my front lawn.
I walked downstairs just as two police officers kicked open the front door. Valerie froze, holding the duffel bag full of my stolen property.
“Put the bag down and step away!” the officer barked, his hand on his holster.
Valerie burst into frantic tears. “No! I live here! I’m her daughter-in-law! I was just packing my things!”
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I stepped into the light of the hallway. “Officers, those are my family heirlooms in that bag. I have the receipts and the security footage of her taking them from my locked cabinets.”
Mark came running down the stairs, rubbing his eyes, completely unaware of what his wife had been doing. He watched in absolute horror as the police handcuffed a screaming, thrashing Valerie and dragged her out the front door for felony grand theft.
