"Where did all the supplies go?!" George demanded sharply, glaring at the Sanders family.
They looked just as stunned.
They had never carefully checked the contentsâonly glanced at them from afar.
Whenever they entered the storage room, they did so furtively. Who had the time or courage to rummage through everything?
Seeing the boxes filled, they had naturally assumed they contained supplies.
Now that they looked closely... they were empty.
They had once believed the Kale family was sitting atop a mountain of wealth.
"Why are you yelling at us?" Margaret shot back, her tone rising just as sharply. "Your supplies are missingâhow would we know anything about that? Itâs not like we took them!"
She truly had no idea what had happened.
Whenever she took anything, it was only from already opened packages. She hadnât dared touch the sealed boxes at all.
Now, being accused so brazenly by George only fueled her anger.
"Stop pretending!" Fiona snapped, her face twisted with fury. "Youâre the ones who took the supplies! You must have moved them somewhereâtell us! Where did you hide them?!"
"Utter nonsense! I didnât even touch those boxes!"
Margaret pointed at the scattered containers on the ground. "Maybe your own family did something and now youâre crying thief to catch a thief! And now youâre trying to pin it on us? Disgustingâhave you no shame?!"
George and Fiona turned livid at her counterattack.
George took a deep breath, his voice low and tense. "The fact is, the supplies only disappeared after you moved into our home."
"That is utter slander!" Margaret scoffed. "Just because you say theyâre gone doesnât make it true!"
But George was certain.
Because when Wendy was still here, the supplies had been intactâhe had seen them with his own eyes.
"Maybe it was your precious daughter who took them!" Margaret sneered. "Donât go pinning this on us! Iâve said it alreadyâwe didnât take anything!"
"How could it possibly be Wendy?!" Fiona shot back, her voice sharp with disbelief.
Fiona still clearly remembered the day Wendy leftâshe hadnât taken a single thing with her.
So how could she possibly have moved all those supplies?
George thought the same. When Wendy had left, sheâd walked out empty-handed. There was no way she could have taken everything.
Watching the entire farce unfold through the surveillance feed, Suzy couldnât help but burst into laughter.
It was simply too entertaining.
She hadnât expected Margaret to actually guess the truth.
Those supplies... had indeed all been taken by Wendy.
She might not have carried anything with her, but she had a storage space.
Only fools like George and Fiona could be so careless about their own supplies, only realizing something was wrong at a time like this.
And what unfortunate timingâright when theyâd also taken in a family of petty thieves like the Sanders.
Now they were completely dumbfounded.
"So this is the reward for staying up late?" Suzy murmured with amusement. "Getting front-row seats to such a dramatic show."
At this rate, it wouldnât be long before things turned violent.
The way they were glaring at each otherâit looked like they wanted to tear one another apart.
And just as Suzy expected, Fiona was the first to snap.
Both sides were utterly convinced the other was to blame.
The Kales believed the Sanders had secretly taken and moved the supplies, refusing to admit it.
The Sanderses, on the other hand, felt wronged, convinced they were being falsely accused.
Margaret, in particular, was certain she was in the right. Her arrogant attitude only fueled Fionaâs fury.
Fiona hated her nowâdeeply.
The more she remembered how obsequious Margaret had been before, the more disgusted she felt.
And seeing that smug expression now... Fiona couldnât hold back any longer.
She lunged forward and slapped Margaret hard across the face.
"You shameless bitch! Still pretending?!"
The blow stunned Margaret for a moment.
Then her eyes flared red with rage as she glared back. "You dare hit me?! Youâre the real bitch! Iâll kill you!"
Being falsely accused was one thing. But now she was being hit, too?
Margaret immediately grabbed Fionaâs wrist and yanked hard, her other hand shooting up to seize a fistful of Fionaâs hair, pulling viciously.
Used to years of physical labor, Margaret was far stronger. Fiona felt like her scalp was about to be torn off.
"George! Help me! It hurtsâIâm going to die!" Fiona screamed in panic.
But Margaret paid no attention, putting all her strength into the assault.
Fiona, pampered all her life, was no match for her.
Within moments, her well-maintained face had been slapped several times in rapid succession.
Mr. Sanders made a show of pulling at Margaret, but there was no real intent to stop her.
On the contrary, Patrick struggled to hold her back, urging anxiously, "Mom! Stop! Calm down!"
Smack! Smack! Smack!
The sharp sounds echoed through the storage room.
Only then did George snap out of his shock and rush forward to intervene.
Patrick also tightened his grip on Margaret. "Mom, calm down!"
But Margaret was blazing with fury.
Seeing even her own son trying to stop her, she shook him off violently and snarled,
"You little brat! Donât you dare stop me! Iâm going to beat her to deathâhow dare she hit me first!"
George couldnât pry Margaret away. Watching Fiona cry out in pain again and again, his heart clenched.
In a moment of panic, he raised his hand and struck Margaret hard across the head.
The blow made her ears ring.
She froze, stunned.
She hadnât expected George to hit herâlet alone with such force. For a moment, she felt like her skull had been rattled loose.
"Jack! Patrick! Get himâkill him! That old bastard actually dared to hit me!"
The slap made her loosen her grip on Fionaâbut what followed was a surge of overwhelming fury.
At that instant, Margaret wanted nothing more than to tear the couple apart.
No matter how timid Jack usually was, he couldnât tolerate another man laying hands on his wife. He lunged forward and threw himself at George.