Chapter 3

"God only purifies your soul when you abandon worldly greed and vanity!" Evelyn said, dusting off her hands, her eyes cold as a stranger's. "Calling the cops? You're sinning against God!"

"Get the hell away from me! Stop sickening me with your hypocritical cult logic!"

I completely snapped. I slapped her hands away and sprinted toward the neighborhood entrance like my life depended on it.

8:45 AM.

Morning rush hour traffic was deadlocked. I ran out to the curb like a lunatic, waving my arms frantically at passing cars, even standing right in front of them with my arms wide open.

"Who can drive me to L'étoile HQ?! I'll pay ten grand! A hundred grand! Anything!"

Finally, the light turned red at the intersection. Hearing my massive cash offer, a few drivers rolled down their windows, genuinely interested.

But before I could make a deal with anyone, Evelyn came sprinting up behind me.

Without hesitation, she threw herself right onto the pavement in front of every driver on the street!

"Everyone, look! My own ungrateful daughter has lost her mind!" Evelyn wailed at the top of her lungs, her shrieks tearing through the morning air.

"She’s risking her own mother's life over a few drawings and cheap fame! If you want to leave, run your own mother over first! Let God judge your filthy heart!"

Drivers started slamming on their horns, creating a deafening chaos.

Neighbors gathered around, pointing, whispering, and looking at us with disgust.

"Isn't that Evelyn? She seems so devout. Why is her daughter so crazy?"

"Is this for TikTok? Forcing her own mother onto the road... kids do anything for clout these days."

Their harsh words stabbed my back like knives. I shook violently, tears burning my eyes.

"Hey sweetie, get in!"

Lisa, a nice neighbor from the next street over, pulled up to the curb and popped open her passenger door, waving at me frantically.

"Lisa! Please lend me your phone!" I rushed over, holding onto her door like a lifeline, tears streaming down my face. "She threw my phone into the pool!"

I took her phone and dialed 911 without hesitation.

The second the dispatcher picked up, I screamed at the top of my lungs right in front of Evelyn and the crowd:

"911?! I need to report a felony! Someone broke into my house and stole millions of dollars in confidential design sketches and encrypted drives! This is grand larceny! The suspect might destroy the evidence—send patrol cars right now!"

When she heard "grand larceny" and "send patrol cars," Evelyn's face turned ghost-white!

She cared about her holy, pure image in the church and neighborhood more than anything else. If the police searched Mrs. Smith’s house, it wouldn't just ruin Mrs. Smith. It would blow up into a massive scandal for the Church of Holy Light!

"You ungrateful bitch! How dare you try to ruin the church's reputation?!"

Evelyn went crazy. She lunged forward like a rabid animal, her long nails tearing through my wrist as she tried to snatch the phone from my hands.

"Give me the phone! Hang up! Hang up right now!"

I used my back to block her, shouted my exact location into the phone, and slammed the end call button.

A few minutes later, sirens blared in the distance.

A black-and-white patrol car slammed to a halt at the curb. Two officers stepped out with hands on their holsters, instantly freezing the crowd.

"I'm the one who called! She stole my commercial assets!" I shoved Evelyn away and rushed toward them. "The thief is right next door at Mrs. Smith’s house! She stole my confidential sketches owned by L'étoile!"

Before I could finish, Evelyn threw herself at the officer’s feet, sobbing loudly and grabbing his pant leg with a twisted face.

"Officers! Don't listen to this crazy girl! Nobody stole anything! She's having a psychotic breakdown! She called 911 for a livestream prank to chase clout online! Our whole family is devout believers in the Church of Holy Light—how could we steal?!"

The officer's brow furrowed. He turned to me, his eyes guarded and dead serious.

"Ma'am, grand larceny is a serious charge. Before we search anyone's home, we need to verify your identity. Show us your driver's license and your L'étoile employee badge right now."