Without waiting for a response, she hung up the phone.
Glaring up at Gonzalez, she asked bitterly, "Are you satisfied now?"
His tone was merciless. "You gave away my cat without my permission. Fixing your mistake is the bare minimum. You want to know if I'm satisfied? Of course I'm not. Pull a stunt like this again, and I'll toss you out onto the street like the animal you are."
Pure, unadulterated hatred burned in Yvonne's eyes as she glared at him.
Simon's heart ached seeing his daughter still crumpled on the floor. "Gonzalez, the cat is coming back. That's enough. Yvonne is your sister. How could you treat her this way over a pet?"
Gonzalez scoffed. "Don't even mention her in the same breath as my cat. She's not worthy of the comparison."
Simon was left speechless with anger.
Hannah, still sniffling dramatically, leaned into her husband. "See, Simon? You see how it is. To him, Yvonne and I mean less than a stray animal."
Feeling entirely helpless, Simon sighed. "Just help her up. Let's see how bad those scratches are."
Hannah hurried to help Yvonne to her feet. "Oh, sweetie, you'll just have to endure it. Why did you have to touch his things? Getting scratched is what you get for forgetting your place in this house!"
Disgusted by Hannah's manufactured pity party, Gonzalez turned away, staring silently out the tall windows into the dark night.
About half an hour later, a maid rushed in to announce that Ms. Vaughn had arrived.
The entire family had relocated to the living room by then. "Show her in," Yvonne commanded stiffly.
Maisie walked in, carrying the pet carrier. "Yvonne, what was the massive rush—"
The words died in her throat. Seeing the entire family gathered in the middle of the night, suffocated by the incredibly hostile tension, she wisely snapped her mouth shut.
A maid took the carrier from her and brought it straight to Gonzalez.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)