Her parents dragged me outside, drawing a crowd.
All the people gathering were unfamiliar faces–the gardeners and villakeepers at home. “Ma’am, what happened?” one of the older maids asked, her voice trembling as she looked at me–covered head to toe in blood.
Dixie’s crossed her arms over her chest and looked at me with a cold sneer. “Hmph! What else could it be?”
“This so–called scholarship student sponsored by Mr. Constable…” she explained. “She actually dared to steal something from his villa. Good thing we caught her in time!”
By then, I was barely holding on–completely drained from everything they’d put me through.
Listening to her accusations, I already knew what she meant by “stealing.”
She was talking about that diamond necklace.
But that necklace wasn’t stolen. Dad had bought it at a charity auction for over ten million -just for me.
At the time, I was still in Belgium studying, so he had it displayed in a glass case at home like an exhibit.
Now that I was finally back, he’d personally placed it around my neck this morning.
But the villa staff had recently changed–new maids, new gardeners.
Even though they’d all seen me earlier in the day, none of them knew who I was.
Now, thanks to what Dixie’s mom said, they thought I was just another underprivileged student Dad was sponsoring.
She sighed and kept going, “Mr. Constable has such a kind heart. He’s always helping underprivileged students, so they can finish their degree.”
“If they’re willing to stay on after graduation, he even offers them jobs at his company,” she
added.
For a moment, she glared at me. “But there’s always one or two ungrateful brats, greedy and shameless, who take advantage of the opportunity and try to sneak off with something valuable!”
Everyone started murmuring, casting judgmental glances my way.
An elderly gardener–gray–haired, sun–weathered, wearing a straw hat and his work uniform–looked at me with pity in his eyes.
He stepped forward and carefully spoke to Dixie’s mom, “Ma’am, she’s still so young. Kids
make mistakes.”
“If she really did steal something, just give her a good scolding,” he suggested.
In a worried tone, he cautiously questioned them. “But how could you beat someone up like this?”
She Served Dinner when Dad’s Dog Disappeared.
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A few people around him silently nodded in agreement.
But a few of the maids scoffed and tried to curry favor with Dixie’s mom.
“You did the right thing, Ma’am!”
“People like her–petty thieves–think just because Mr. An is kind to them, they can do whatever they want. If she dares to steal from him in his own home tonight, who’s to say she won’t try to take over his entire villahold tomorrow?”
“People like this deserve to be severely punished. If it were up to me, I’d tie her hands and hang her up as a warning to the others.”
Another maid named Shawna chimed in.
“There are so many of us maids and chefs in Sir Huck’s villa,” she began. “This is the perfect chance to set an example–so nobody else gets the same bad ideas.”
Shawna and the other maid clearly knew that Dixie’s parents–Othello and Loreena–were close to my father.
Everyone knew that Dixie was his favorite sponsored student–he treated her almost like his own daughter.
So the two maids were eager to cozy up to Dixie’s parents in front of everyone to the point
that it made the others frown.
Loreena looked at me viciously and sneered, “That’s right. Tie this filthy thing up. Hang
her.”
Besides Shawna, another maid named Belinda stepped forward.
They took the lead, dragging me out of the dog cage.
Then they found a hemp rope, tied my hands, and hoisted me up on a tall, lush ornamental
tree.
My body swayed in the wind, weak and limp.
Fresh blood trickled down my ankles and dripped onto the ground.
At that point, I didn’t even have the strength to cry out for help.
It was the elderly gardener who must have been terrified they’d gone too far. He he quietly ran into the villa to alert Dad and his buddied who were over for the gathering.
Not long after… Othello and Loreena even carried over a table and set it up beneath the
tree.
Loreena glanced at the time and murmured, “It’s been a while… Dixie’s casserole should be ready by now, right?”
Her husband laughed loudly, clearly excited. “Perfect! Casserole’s my favorite!”
In a confident tone, he added, “I’m sure Mr. Constable and his guests are going to love it!” And right then, Dad arrived with two grey–haired men walking beside him.
Chapter 5
