5: 5
5
At the sound of that voice, I finally couldn't hold on any longer. My vision went black and I passed out.
When I came to, I was in a hospital.
I turned my head and saw that my mother was already awake.
Her eyes brimmed with tears, and there was gauze wrapped around her head. The moment she saw me stir, the relief on her face was plain.
The nurse noticed both of us moving too.
"Miss Summers, don't worry. Your mother has a mild concussion. With enough rest, there shouldn't be any serious problem."
"You, on the other hand, have a fair number of soft-tissue bruises on your face and body, and a perforated left eardrum. Your condition is a bit worse than hers."
Hearing the nurse, I let out a long breath.
As long as my mother was all right, that was enough.
The nurse finished changing the medication and left the room.
A moment later, two police officers came in.
They sat down beside my bed and opened the report in their hands.
"Miss Summers, are you able to answer some questions?"
I nodded to show that I could.
The officer didn't waste words and got straight to the point.
"There were plenty of guests at the wedding, so we already have a picture of what happened, and we've pulled the security footage from the venue."
"The footage shows that the groom's mother was the one who quietly took the hardware set, and we found it in her bag. But the pieces weren't gold at all. Just a fake set worth no more than a hundred dollars."
"This whole thing was staged by the groom's family from start to finish. They never bought any hardware, and they were afraid giving fakes would expose them, so they put on this whole act."
I already knew everything the officer was telling me.
Hearing it laid out again now, I wasn't the least bit surprised.
The officer closed the report.
"Aside from the theft, there's the matter of the injuries to you and your mother. But given that you're all family, we came in to ask what you'd like to do."
"Tabitha Fox's family is right outside. They want to settle."
The officer had barely finished speaking when my aunt and her husband barged in with Tabitha in tow.
The moment she was through the door, Ava wore that same haughty look.
"All right, I know now that you didn't steal anything. It was all a misunderstanding. We only got physical because we didn't know the truth."
"We're all family. No need to drag this out and make it ugly over something so small. Besides, you and your mother are fine now."
"I'll give you a thousand dollars, and we'll call it even."
Before I could answer, she was talking again.
"Look at you. If you didn't steal it, you should've just said so, instead of blowing this up into such a scene."
"If my rich son-in-law slips away, I'm holding you responsible!"
Her words were so absurd they almost made me laugh.
"Go ask Tabitha yourself. Did I not warn her before the wedding?"
"And you. I would have loved to explain, but did you give me the chance? You slapped me first without asking a single question. You'd already decided I was guilty. Would you even have listened to my explanation?"
"Instead of thanking me for helping you see what a con man he is, you're blaming me for scaring off your rich son-in-law?"
"With brains like yours, no wonder you got fooled."
Ava froze for a second, but she pressed on stubbornly.
"Fooled how? You think I don't know what my son-in-law does for a living? What would a little girl like you know?"
"Don't stand there slandering people! Even if you didn't steal anything, the fact is you ruined Tabitha's wedding!"
"We won't hold you accountable. I'll give you a thousand dollars, and you drop the charges and settle. That's no problem, right?"
Ava had barely finished when Keith Butler and his family came charging in from outside the room too.
"What's that supposed to mean? Who are you calling a con man?"
"Do you even know the truth?"
