Chapter 1 Caught

"Yes. And when I grow up, I'll protect from everything." Lauren startled awake. It had been a while since she dreamed of the little boy. The last dream was after she barely escaped a fire a few months ago. She looks at her watch and sees it's after 8. She just finalized a contract she'd been working on all week. All that's left is to meet the people for signing tomorrow. She decides to head home early.

She's lived in this house for the first 5 and last 6 years of her life, so she doesn't bother turning on the lights. She removed her shoes and sets her purse on the table by the door. She freezes as she thought she heard a noise. 'Im just tired' she thinks. As she heads up the stairs, she heard the noise again. 'Is that someone giggling?' she thinks. She creeps slowly up the stairs. Her fiancee was out of town for business so it shouldn't be him, right? She gets to the landing and hears another giggle followed by what sounds like whispering words. She turns and sees a light under the door of the master bedroom. Her bedroom. She doubted the housekeeper left it on. She tiptoes to the door where the whispers get clearer.

"How do you think Lauren would react if she knew you came home early just to fuck me in her bed while wearing her bitch mother's jewelry?" a female voice says.

She recognized that voice. It belongs to her crazy cousin Kaitlyn.

"She always stays overnight at her office when working on a big deal while I'm out of town. She probably hasn't opened that safe for months. I think this necklace looks better on you than it probably would on her. Diamonds go great with nothing," a man's voice says.

Tears come to Lauren's eyes when she recognized that voice, too. It belongs to her fiancee, James Marshall. He came back early just have an affair with her hateful cousin.

"Do you really have to marry her? I don't know if I can keep sneaking around to see you," a whine is heard in Kaitlyns's voice.

"Babe, we've been through this. I only love you. I have not nor will I ever touch her sexually. She'd probably just lay there like log and think about business the whole time anyway. Don't you want to get all of your property back?" James says.

"Yes, but I don't want to lose you to get it," Kaitlyn answers.

"I'm not going anywhere, babe. I just need to marry her for a couple of months. There's no prenup, so after that I can drug her to fuck a couple of guys, get it on video, and boom, your stolen property is yours again," James tells her.

Soon moans and creaks are the only thing Lauren can hear. As tears fall down her face, she thinks back through all the times she thought he was out of town business. It was true that she stayed in her office a lot while he was out of town. She hated coming home to an empty house. He didn't live with her, but she always left work early to be with him when he was home. And her mother's jewelry, they've been coming here for quite a while if they found the combination and hidden key. Her cousin lying about everything being hers is normal. She's always wanted everything that belongs to Lauren, because her bitch of a mother keeps telling her lies. None of it was ever hers, including her father. Lauren creeps back downstairs, thinking of a way to expose them without them knowing she knows now. She grabs her purse, and walks out barefooted. She grabs her phone from her purse to call 911.

"I need help. I just got home and heard talking coming from upstairs. I live alone, so I think someone broke in. I'm so scared I don't know what to do," her tears fit perfectly with what she reports.

Soon 4 cop cars pull up, no sirens, just lights. Fortunately her room was at the back of the house, so they wouldn't see them. Two cops step out of each car with guns drawn and pointing down.

"Are you the reporter, ma'am?" the first cop to reach her asks.

The other 7 open the door and stagger their way in.

"Yes sir. I came home from work early because I wasn't feeling good. I started to head up stairs when I heard someone say something about how the jewels look and something about nothing. I don't know if that means they found the safe or not. I crept back down the stairs, grabbed my purse which had my phone. I didn't even stop for shoes," she moaned miserably.

The officer starts asking for her details when a crash and a scream break through the silent night. They can hear the struggle all the way from the front door.

"We have 2 suspects in custody. But there's a problem, sir. There's a woman claiming she's the real owner of the house. And there's a man who claims he's her fiancee. You need to come see what the problem is, sir," a voice comes over the radio.

The officer looks at her suspiciously, so she pulls out her driver's license, which shows this is her address. Only the name on the ID says she is Veronica Clark.

"10-4 be right there," the officer responds.

He looks at her to see if she'll be okay out here alone.

"Go ahead, sir. But, could you grab me my jacket first, please? I'm a little chilly. It's a black jacket hanging on the back of the front door," she smiles at him.

The officer approaches the open door and looks behind it. Sure enough, there's a long black jacket hanging there. This further cements her claim that this is her house. He hands her the jacket before walking back in. Soon she hears voices complaining about the rough treatment they're getting.