Chapter 244
When Dorothea walked into the lounge and saw Bertha, it took her a second to recognize her.
Bertha came rushing over, arms wide. “Dorothea, it’s me, Bertha! I haven’t seen you in forever. I actually missed you p>
Dorothea frowned, not quite used to this kind of closeness from someone she barely knew. She stepped aside, smoothly avoiding Bertha’s hug. “What brings you here p>
“I just wanted to see you p>
Bertha was Alfonso’s daughter. Dorothea had always been a little jealous of her. Alfonso was all about money, but when it came to Bertha, he spared no expense. He treated her like a princess.
After every snide comment from Elise, Dorothea would look at Bertha’s Twitter posts and feel even worse about herself. To keep her sanity, she ended up muting every Carter Family account, pretending they didn’t exist. Out of sight, out of mind.
She hadn’t seen Bertha or even Alfonso in three years. She couldn’t remember ever being close to them.
“When I got here, I didn’t know you were busy. I tried to wait in your office for a bit, but your receptionist kicked me out!” Bertha complained, immediately trying to get Dorothea on her side.
Dorothea’s frown deepened. “They’re just following protocol p>
“Oh! And Dorothea, you didn’t even invite us to your wedding. Are you mad at our family or something p>
Dorothea thought Bertha was being way too forward, so her tone cooled. “Didn’t you see Elise’s public statement? I’m not her daughter anymore. We’re not family p>
The message was clear. None of them were her relatives now.
But Bertha just laughed it off like she didn’t get it. “Come on, Dorothea, Elise was just angry when she said all that. Are you really going to take it seriously? She’s your mom. It’s pretty ungrateful of you to act like this p>
Dorothea had reached her limit. “If that makes me ungrateful, fine. Do you need something or can I get back to work p>
Bertha seemed satisfied, pouting dramatically. “Wow, Dorothea, you’re really cold. I came all this way and you’re kicking me out already? Guess you’re too important for us now. Fine. I won’t bother you anymore p>
Head held high, Bertha strutted out of the room.
Dorothea was left confused and a little annoyed. She turned to her assistant. “What was that about? Did she actually go to my office p>
The assistant nodded. “Dorothea, she tried to intimidate us. We didn’t want to get on her bad side. When she went to your office, Tina followed her the whole time, so I’m pretty sure she didn’t do anything weird p>
Dorothea nodded slightly. “Have Tina come see me. I want to ask her something p>
When Tina came in, she looked nervous. “Dorothea, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have stopped your cousin from waiting in your office. She seemed a little off, though p>
Dorothea raised an eyebrow. “How so p>
“She went straight for your chair, sat down, grabbed the roses Mr. Latham sent, and started taking selfies. I think she even sent one to someone p>
Dorothea’s frown deepened. That was beyond weird. It was just plain rude.
“It’s fine. I’m aware of it now. From now on, no one waits in my office except my husband. Everyone else stays in the lounge p>
This morning, Dorothea had accidentally cut her finger and couldn’t find a bandage,
so she’d taken off her wedding ring and left it on her desk.
She glanced at her desk now and her heart skipped a beat. Her ring was missing.
She usually only wore the matching wedding band she shared with Latham. The diamond ring was too flashy for everyday wear, so she kept it at home.
“Tina, did you see the ring I left on my desk p>
Tina looked completely shocked. “I didn’t see it. Dorothea, is your ring missing p>
“No one else should have been in here after this morning. I didn’t take it Tina’s voice trembled, scared Dorothea might suspect her.
Dorothea tried to calm her down. “I’m not accusing you. I’m just asking if you saw it p>
There were no cameras in her office. Dorothea never liked monitoring herself. She was sure her own staff wouldn’t steal from her. There was only one real possibility.
Anger simmered inside her. She grabbed her phone and took Bertha off her blocklist. As soon as she opened Twitter, a red notification from Bertha popped up. [These flowers are so beautiful p>
Attached was a photo of the roses Latham sent that morning. The card was visible and read, Honey was wrong.” Dorothea recognized Latham’s handwriting instantly.
Was Bertha out of her mind? She was showing off Dorothea’s flowers like they belonged to her.
Someone had commented, [Bertha, did you get a boyfriend p>
Dorothea didn’t hesitate. She called Bertha right away.
The moment the call connected, Dorothea got straight to the point. “Bertha, did you steal my ring p>
“Dorothea, are you crazy? Why would I steal your ring p>
“I didn’t even go into your office! How can you just accuse me like that p>
Dorothea’s voice turned icy. “I’m not joking. If you took it, you have until tonight to
bring it back. Otherwise, I’m calling the police p>
“I didn’t take it! Maybe your receptionist did. Dorothea, how can you accuse me like this? If you have proof, go ahead and call the police p>
Bertha hung up first.
Dorothea almost laughed out of frustration. The nerve. Bertha was acting like she was the victim.
Tina stood frozen, clearly anxious after hearing her name mentioned on the call.
Dorothea looked at her and spoke gently. “You can go. Just remember what I said about visitors p>
She’d blocked Elise’s number before, but now she pulled it out of her blocklist and called directly.
Elise saw Dorothea’s number pop up and couldn’t help feeling hopeful. Maybe Dorothea wanted to make up.
“Hello, Dorothea p>
“Elise, get control of your relatives. Bertha came to my office today and stole my wedding ring. I’ve already warned her. If she doesn’t return it by tonight, I’m going to the police. If this ends up in court don’t blame me for not caring about family p>
Dorothea hung up, not giving Elise a chance to say a word. She sat at her desk, trying to calm down before dialing Latham.
“My wife disappears as soon as work starts. I called you a bunch of times and you didn’t pick up. Are you still mackat me?
Lath’s voice
sounded playful. “Did you get the
flowers p>
If he hadn’t mentioned the flowers, Dorothea wouldn’t have felt so bitter. But now, all
she could think about was Bertha’s tweet.
She stayed quiet, and Latham started to worry.
“What’s wrong, honey? I was wrong. Don’t be mad, okay? I’ll be better next time p>
“I’m not mad about that,” Dorothea replied.
“Then what are you upset about p>
With an edge in her voice, Dorothea said, “A psycho came to my office and stole my
ring p>
“Who?” Latham’s voice turned cold.
“My cousin. Bertha p>
Latham’s anger was obvious. “So it was her p>
“You know her p>
Latham laughed, though it sounded more bitter than amused. “She tried to flirt with
me this morning when I was buying flowers. I got away from her p>
“Don’t wait until tonight. Call the police right now p>