Chapter 3 - The Confrontation at the Dining Table
I didn't scream, and I didn't rush downstairs with wild accusation.
I printed three copies of the microchip transfer alert, three copies of the $2,500 online listing, and the bank routing receipt showing Alicia's personal account linked to the posting.
I walked downstairs into the kitchen where Brenda and Gordon were still sipping tea, completely unaware that the ground beneath their feet had just turned to quicksand.
I placed the stack of papers flat on the center of the dining table, right between Brenda’s teacup and Gordon’s folded newspaper.
"What is this?" Brenda asked, her voice sharp with annoyance as she picked up the top page.
"That's the microchip registry alert I received at two o'clock today," I said, my voice completely level. "And under it is Alicia's listing asking for twenty-five hundred dollars for my daughter's dog."
Brenda’s face went completely pale, her manicured fingers trembling as she scanned the printed screenshot.
Gordon stood up so fast his chair screeched loudly against the tile floor. "Elena, you have no right to pry into Alicia's business!"
"Alicia's business?" I laughed softly, a cold, sharp sound that made Brenda flinch. "You told my eleven-year-old daughter that you gave her dog away to 'church people' because Madison was afraid."
"In reality, you helped Alicia steal Sadie so she could pay off her luxury shopping debts before the end of the month."
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"We... we were helping Alicia!" Brenda stammered, her polished, authoritative demeanor cracking into panicked pieces. "She was behind on her car payment! She needed the money, and that dog was just sitting here taking up space!"
"Sadie is property registered under my name, Brenda," I replied, stepping closer to the table. "And taking registered property without the owner's consent and selling it online is called grand larceny."
