Chapter 219: Renee’s Shoulder Throw
Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Renee’s Shoulder Throw
Renee Jennings watched her with a wry smile. "If we hadn’t installed security cameras, how would we know you used cleaning as an excuse to steal so much of Mrs. Forrest’s jewelry?"
Renee Brooks’s expression turned grim, her eyes wide in disbelief as she mumbled, "How is this possible?"
Auntie Brooks said angrily, "Renee Brooks, how could you do something like this?"
"I..." Renee Brooks’s heart hammered in her chest. She glanced at Auntie Brooks, then at Mrs. Forrest, and dropped to her knees with a thud. "Grandma, please forgive me. I just wasn’t thinking straight. I know I was wrong."
"Hand over what you stole!" Mrs. Forrest’s voice was stern.
Renee Brooks pointed at the gold medallion on the sofa. "Grandma, I only stole the gold medallion. This is the first time I’ve ever done this. My family has been tight on money recently, that’s why I made such a mistake..."
"You’re lying!" Mrs. Forrest said, her face grim and her tone resolute.
"Mrs. Forrest, don’t we have the security footage?" Renee Jennings suggested calmly. "We should call the police and tally it up based on the recordings. Make her compensate for every piece she stole. If she can’t, then she can go to jail."
"Auntie Brooks." Mrs. Forrest knew she wasn’t involved, so her tone softened slightly. "Since she’s your niece, I’ll give her one chance."
"Ma’am, I’m so sorry," Auntie Brooks apologized guiltily, then turned to glare at Renee Brooks. "If you don’t want to go to jail, then confess! Exactly how much did you steal?"
"I..." Renee Brooks was furious and deeply resentful.
She had gone to so much trouble to steal those things, and she had already sold some of them for cash.
’What am I supposed to pay them back with?’
"Renee Brooks!" Auntie Brooks walked over and slapped her across the face. "You’ve completely disgraced me!"
Clutching her stinging face, Renee Brooks choked out, "How can you blame me for this?"
"If not you, then who?" Auntie Brooks demanded indignantly. "Did someone force you to steal?"
Renee Brooks pressed her lips together, speechless.
"So you’re not going to talk?" Auntie Brooks asked, her voice dangerously low. "Fine. If you want to go to jail, I’ll respect your choice. Ma’am, please call the police!"
"Don’t!" Renee Brooks cried out, then said reluctantly, "I’ll confess everything."
Renee Brooks confessed that, including the gold medallion, she had stolen from the house a total of seven times.
The first two times, she only dared to take small items: a ring and a pair of stud earrings.
Since Mrs. Forrest hadn’t noticed, she grew bolder, stealing two gold necklaces and two gold bracelets.
Renee Jennings quietly asked Nini if the woman was lying.
’She is! She also stole...’ Nini knew that gold jewelry was gold-colored, but it had once seen Renee Brooks steal something that was green and sparkly.
’Something green and sparkly?’
Renee Jennings frowned in thought. Her bright eyes narrowed as she asked coldly, "And the jadeite? Didn’t you also steal Mrs. Forrest’s jadeite?"
A guilty look crossed Renee Brooks’s face. "The jadeite... I sold it."
"You..." Auntie Brooks snapped. "Ma’am gave you a chance, and you still dared to hide things!"
"But I already sold it, so how am I supposed to return it?" Renee Brooks shot back defiantly.
Suppressing her fury, Auntie Brooks ordered, "I don’t care what you have to do. You must get that jadeite back!"
Renee Brooks mumbled, "I’ll go home and bring the gold pieces back first."
"I’ll go with you!" Auntie Brooks then looked at Mrs. Forrest and explained, "I’m afraid she’ll make an excuse and run off."
Renee Brooks was speechless.
That was indeed her plan.
After Auntie Brooks and Renee Brooks left, Renee Jennings handed Nini to Mrs. Forrest, smiling. "Mrs. Forrest, you’ve got a good cat here."
"It’s all thanks to you and Nini," Mrs. Forrest said happily as she took the cat. "Renee, you’re my lucky star. If it weren’t for you, who knows how long I would have been kept in the dark."
’After all, even if I had noticed jewelry was missing, I probably wouldn’t have suspected Renee Brooks.’
"The credit all goes to Nini," Renee Jennings said, stroking the cat’s head. "Give her some extra treats."
"Of course," Mrs. Forrest agreed at once with a smile. "Whatever you say."
Renee Jennings put an arm around her shoulder and smiled. "Well, Mrs. Forrest, I should be going now."
"Alright." Mrs. Forrest walked her to the door, her eyes full of reluctance. "Come visit often."
"Okay, you don’t have to see me out. Go on back inside," Renee Jennings said with a wave before turning to leave.
Renee Jennings was texting Michelle Fuller on her phone while waiting for the elevator. She heard it start to rise from the first floor and only looked up at the sound of a DING.
The elevator doors slid open, and a figure stepped out.
Evan Shepherd was looking down at his phone, scrolling through videos as he exited.
Renee Jennings had come to settle a score with him before, but the person who answered the door had said he moved out. She never expected to run into him here.
’Looks like they deliberately lied to her last time.’
Renee Jennings’s expression turned icy. "Evan Shepherd."
Evan Shepherd looked up and saw Renee Jennings. His expression changed in an instant, and he stammered in a panic, "Re-Renee? What are you doing here?"
"Surprised to see me?" Renee Jennings grabbed him by the collar, her cool voice laced with aggression. "I heard you went looking for Jaden Forrest."
Evan Shepherd frantically shook his head. "I never went to see him."
"Don’t have the guts to admit it?" Renee Jennings patted his cheek, her eyes flashing with deep disgust. "You’re revolting."
"We can talk, but keep your hands to yourself!" Evan Shepherd’s cheek stung, and he tried to push her away. "Stop grabbing my shirt! Let go!"
Renee Jennings didn’t let go. Instead, she hauled him by the collar to his apartment door. "Open it."
Evan Shepherd glanced at her nervously. "What are you doing?"
Renee Jennings said, "I told you to open it, so just do it. Cut the crap."
Evan Shepherd had no choice but to unlock the door with his fingerprint.
Renee Jennings strode in first.
She sat on the sofa and said coldly, "You’d better give me back every last cent you took from me."
"Don’t be unreasonable," Evan Shepherd said, standing in front of the coffee table and staring at her. "You gave me all that money willingly."
"Is that so?" Renee Jennings picked up a glass tumbler and smashed it at his feet.
Evan Shepherd flinched. "Hey, we can talk, but don’t go breaking my glasses."
"Don’t break your glasses, huh?" Renee Jennings stood up and walked toward him.
He immediately backed away.
Renee Jennings raised an eyebrow, a sweet smile playing on her lips. "Give me your hand."
"What?" Evan Shepherd frowned. He had no idea what she was up to, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he extended his hand.
Her slender, pale fingers closed around his wrist.
A jolt went through Evan Shepherd, and his narcissistic thoughts began to swirl.
’She can’t still be hung up on me, can she?’
’Damn, this accursed charm of mine!’
Just as Evan Shepherd was lost in his thoughts, his feet suddenly left the ground. The world spun around him, and a sharp pain shot through his entire body.
Renee Jennings had slammed him to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.
"Owww..."
She dusted off her hands, her voice still laced with amusement. "So, no breaking glasses. Just breaking you, is that it?"