Back at the Baby Party, I Won't Cover for My Brother Anymore

At the baby's one-month party, Zachery Fox's wife suddenly clutched the baby and cried out.

The baby's gold locket is gone. A hundred grams of gold.

Everyone jumped in to help look for it.

And then the locket fell right out of my bag.

Mom glared at me, furious.

Katherine Fox, if you needed money, why didn't you tell the family? Stealing from your own nephew, how could you sink that low?

Dad was shaking with rage, and he slapped me across the face.

"How did I raise a daughter this shameless? I'm cutting you off."

I cried and tried to explain, but no one believed me.

And my brother and sister, wanting to teach me a lesson so I'd "remember it," posted what I'd done online for everyone to judge.

Overnight, I became a thief everyone spat on.

The school, under public pressure, revoked my enrollment on the spot.

Even the boyfriend I'd been with for five years chose to break up with me, all because his mother said, "You can't take a girl from a family like that."

I became a joke with no education, no love, and no family.

In despair, I jumped into the river.

After I died, my soul drifted back home.

And there I heard the cruelest truth of all.

Mom was comforting my brother.

"Zach, if you needed money, you could've told your parents. It's a good thing Katie took the fall this time. If it came out that you stole the locket and racked up gambling debts, your wife would've dumped you!"

My older sister said with a smile,

"Exactly, Zach. Do you even know how close that was? If I hadn't gotten to your hiding spot first and grabbed the locket and dropped it in Katie's bag, you'd have been the one they caught!"

That was the moment I understood.

Zachery stole the locket.

And once my own parents and my older sister found out, they chose to frame me to protect him.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the party.

Zachery's wife was crying out that the locket was gone.

This time, right as they were about to pin it on me again, I stepped forward first.

"There's no need to look."

"I know where the locket is."

...

The words landed, and Zachery's wife went rigid.

"Katie, you're saying you know where the locket is?"

I nodded.

"I do."

"Because I saw with my own eyes who took it."

The instant I said it, the whole hall fell silent.

Every pair of eyes turned to me.

But unlike the shock on everyone else's faces, Mom, Dad, my sister, and Zachery wore only panic.

They recovered fast, though.

My sister grabbed my hand and called out to Zachery's wife.

"Marlin, don't listen to my sister's nonsense. She's been with me the whole time. How would she know where any thief went?"

My mother jumped in at once.

"Right, Marlin, I'll vouch for it too. This girl's been with us the entire time. There's no way she knows where the locket is. She's making it up."

I let out a cold breath and shook their hands off.

"Marlin, I'm not making anything up. I really do know where the locket is!"

My father couldn't sit still. He raised his hand to slap me.

But I wasn't scared. I leaned my face right toward him on purpose.

"Go on, hit me right here."

"Even if you beat me to death today, I'll still say I know exactly where that locket is!"

My father's hand stayed up high, but it didn't come down.

I let out a cold breath.

"You people are the strange ones!"

"A locket worth over a hundred grand goes missing and none of you are worried. But the second I say I know where it is, you get this worked up insisting I don't, and you even raise a hand to me. Who exactly are you covering for?"

As I said it, I let my eyes settle on Zachery on purpose.

He flinched under my stare and glared back, furious.

"Katherine, what are you looking at me for? Don't tell me you think I stole the locket?"

I gave a cold laugh.

"Whether you did, you know best."

The crowd gasped, and their eyes swung toward Zachery.

The attention made him squirm, and he flared up at once.

"You little brat, don't you go slinging false accusations. I'm his father, why would I take my own son's things? Besides..."

He turned to his wife with a wounded look.

"I know I married into your family, but Marlin's always treated me well. You've never once shorted me on money. What would I want with that locket?"

His wife lapped up the flattery. She narrowed her eyes and looked me over with suspicion.

"Katie, some things you don't say without proof."

I laughed. Not a light laugh, but a loud one.

"Proof?"

"Marlin, that's easy. Just check Zach's phone right now. If he had the nerve to take the locket, there'll be messages to a gold shop on his social apps."

"Or open his texts and see if there's any record of paying off a debt lately. The gambling can't stay hidden forever!"

At that, the crowd erupted again.

His wife held out her hand to him.

"Zach, give me your phone."

Zachery's face went white, but he forced a calm front.

"I can't give it to you."

"There's a surprise inside for our third wedding anniversary. If you see it now, the whole thing is ruined."

He put on a look of deep affection.

"Come on, honey, you can't listen to an outsider. Four years dating, three years married. Your parents said they wanted you to marry a live-in son-in-law, and I agreed on the spot. You can't start doubting me over some outsider. It really hurts me."

Something in his wife's eyes softened, as if she was remembering their years together.

My chest tightened, like a battle line about to be crossed.

I never expected a woman so sharp and decisive in business to be this blind when it came to love.

Just as I was thinking that maybe, even given a second chance, I still couldn't get back at this family or shake off the frame-up, I heard her speak again.

"Zach, you know the thing I hate most is being lied to."

"I'll let the phone go for now. But if I find out later that you lied to me, the consequences will be serious."

There wasn't much warmth in her eyes when she said it.

Sweat beaded on Zachery's forehead, but he stiffened his neck and patted his chest.

"Of course, honey. When have I ever lied to you?"

"She's the one you should be watching."

Something seemed to occur to him, and his wavering voice suddenly turned firm.

"She says she knows where the locket is. Does she really know?"

"I say she's lying."

"Maybe she's just holding a grudge because Mom and Dad wouldn't give her living money for college, and used the money to buy me a phone and a car instead. So now she's throwing dirt on me for no reason!"

In that instant I understood where his certainty came from.

When he took the locket, he'd been the only one in the room.

He must have checked with our eldest sister that during the same window I was with the rest of them, so there was no way I could have seen him take it.

He thought I was bluffing, making it all up.

By the original timeline, it was trueI hadn't known where he'd hidden the locket.

But what he didn't know was that I'd been reborn, carrying a full lifetime of memories.

And I had him to thank for it. In my past life, when I was being torn apart online, he was the one who let slip where he'd hidden the locket.

Seeing me stay silent, Zachery assumed he'd hit the mark.

He straightened his back even more and pressed me.

"Katherine, why aren't you talking now? Because I nailed it, right? You have no idea where the locket is. You made the whole thing up, just to smear me, didn't you?"

I ignored him and walked to the door of the banquet hall.

Zachery grew more worked up, jabbing a finger at my back and shouting.

"See? She's guilty, she's about to run!"

The banquet hall erupted again.

"She really is trying to run. No shame at all. She doesn't even know where it is, and she still jumped out to frame her own brother."

"They're one family. What's the grudge, that she'd go this far to destroy him?"

But they fell quiet fast.

Because once I reached the door, I stopped and turned around.

"You're all so curious whether I really know where the locket is or not. I'll take you there right now!"

At that, everyone followed, curious.

The face of the brother who'd been so smug a moment ago went pale.

But after our eldest sister said a few words to him, he settled again.

"That's right. She's definitely lying."

Lying?

Once they saw it with their own eyes, they'd know just how ridiculous they looked.

When we reached the storage room, I stopped.

The color drained from Zachery's lips.

I glanced over him, then let my gaze settle on his wife.

"You go in first."

"The locket is on the second shelf, fifth level."

Before she could say a word, Zachery moved to rush in first.

I'd expected it, and grabbed him by the collar.

"Zach, I said your wife goes first. What's the rush?"

"So eager to run in therewant to sneak the locket out of sight and destroy the evidence, is that it?"

Realizing his behavior really was too far out of line, he hurried to explain.

"II'm notI just wanted to scout it out for my wife."

She was no fool. She said nothing, but the look she gave him had gone cold.

She pushed him aside and went in first.

Right behind her, everyone else filed in too.

When they actually saw the gold locket glinting on the shelf, the way everyone looked at Zachery changed.

"That Katie was telling the truth. She really did know where the locket was, so doesn't that mean she was right about the thief too?"

"A father stealing his own son's locket and sneaking it into the storage room to hide it. That's beyond shameless."

"He can really act. He sounded so sincere a minute ago, I actually believed he was being wronged."

His wife's face went dark.

She looked at Zachery.

"Zachery, do you have anything to say about this?"

Zachery burst into tears.

"I'm innocent, I'm being framed. Honey, so Katherine found the locket, that doesn't prove anything. Maybe she planted it there herself. Otherwise how would she know exactly where it was?"

My mother jumped in to back him up.

"That's right, dear. My son has always been such a good, obedient boy. How could he ever steal the locket?"

She shot me a hateful glare.

"It's Katie here who's always been full of schemes. Even as a child she'd slack off whenever we asked her to do chores. Who's to say she just doesn't want to earn her own living, and meant to steal the locket and sell it!"

My father raised his voice even louder, snapping at me.

"Katherine, you ungrateful girl. You did it yourself, and now that you're afraid of getting caught, you're pinning it on your brother? Apologize and admit what you've done, right now."

I looked at each of their faces, one by one, and couldn't help thinking back over these years.

They loved my eldest sister because she was the first child, and they loved Zachery because he was the first son.

For me alone, there was no love.

Because I was an accident, conceived right when the family was worst off for money.

So I became the debt collector come to ruin them.

When my sister and Zachery ate candy and I said I wanted some too,

my mother called me the debt collector.

All my life, when my sister and Zachery wanted something, it was only natural.

But the moment I opened my mouth, all I got was a scolding.

It was the same with school.

I scored better than either of them, yet I had to earn my own money to cover my tuition and living costs.

Now they wanted to run the same trick again, dumping the theft on me.

Why should they?

"Figuring out who took it, isn't that simple?"

I raised my phone and typed in 911.

"I'll call the police. Once the officers get here, they can check the security footage and run the fingerprints. Won't that make it clear as day?"

As I said it, my thumb moved to hit the call button.

"No, you can't call the police!"

My mother lost all reason.

"If you dare call the police, I'll disown you!"

My eldest sister clamped down on my hand, her eyes full of disgust.

"Enough, Katherine. How long are you going to keep this up? The locket's been found. There's no need to blow it up into a whole police thing."

My father was the angriest of all. He raised his hand and slapped me.

This time, with my hand pinned, I took it full on.

My face snapped to the side, stinging like fire.

Zachery clicked his tongue.

"Serves you right. It's karma!"

"A troublemaker like you, who never thinks about this family, deserves to be beaten. Even if they beat you to death, it'd be your good fortune!"

I said nothing and shoved them all off with force.

Then I pressed the call button again.

This time, the call went through.

My mother hadn't expected me to be this stubborn, and screamed in a panic.

She even stooped to threatening her own life.

"Katherine, if you insist on tearing this household apart, then your mother won't go on living."

She made a show of going to slam her head into the wall.

My father, Zachery, and my sister made a phony rush to stop her.

And even while stopping her, they kept cursing me for being unfilial.

But I didn't move a muscle.

In my past life, on the day I finally got the hotel security footage and thought I could clear my name, my mother threatened me the same way.

"Katie, your brother is my whole life. If you do this, you might as well be killing me. I'd rather just drop dead right now."

I caved. I deleted the video.

And the next day she was the first one cursing me, whipping the crowd up all over again.

So this time, I wasn't going to cave.

Right then the operator's voice came through the phone.

"Hello, 911, what's your emergency?"

Afraid of what I'd say, Zachery threw himself at me, clawing for my phone.

"Katherine, what the hell, who said you could call the police? Give me that phone!"

I dodged him easily and raised my voice, each word clear and deliberate.

"I'd like to report a crime."

"Someone stole gold jewelry worth over a hundred thousand and deliberately framed another person for it. We're at the Sea Crown Banquet Hall. Please come quickly."

When the call ended, the room went dead silent.

My mother forgot all about the people around us and lunged to rake her nails down my face.

But before she could touch me, Zachery's wife shoved her back.

She'd spent years running a company and had seen every kind of person there was.

Zachery's panic, and the way my parents and older sister kept shielding him, had already told her everything: Zachery had taken the locket, lied to her, and my family knew and had covered for him.

I was the only one who'd said it out loud.

She made up her mind fast.

"No one touches Katherine before the police get here!"

"And the rest of you, no one leaves. This gets settled today."

At that hard order, all four of themmy parents, my older sister, and Zacherywent white.

Zachery was still scrambling.

"Nita, there's no need to drag the cops into this. This is a family matter at most. You don't air your dirty laundry. Blowing it up doesn't do any of us any good!"

My mother nodded along.

"Exactly, whatever it is we can talk it out at home. Don't embarrass yourself here."

His wife refused.

"No. Since Zach says Katherine framed him, we're getting to the bottom of it."

"I won't let anyone smooth this over. The innocent one is getting justice."

The weight lifted off my chest.

I'd thought she might be too worried about saving face and would handle it quietly.

I hadn't expected her to see it all so clearly.

Ten minutes later, the police arrived.

They showed their badges, and I went to meet them and laid out exactly what had happened.

The two officers nodded and went straight to the restaurant manager for the security footage.

The whole group followed them to the security room.

Inside, the guard pulled up the banquet hall footage from that day.

Everyone crowded around the screen.

Zachery, my parents, and my older sister hung back behind the crowd, their faces getting uglier by the second.

"Manager, pull up the footage from around when the locket went missing. What time was that?"

The officer looked at me.

I answered at once.

"Between eleven and eleven thirty!"

The manager nodded and scrolled the timestamp back.

On the screen, Zachery's wife carried the baby into the banquet hall.

Then she handed the baby off to Zachery and went to greet the guests.

The gold locket was there the whole time, around the baby's neck.

Until ten minutes later, when Zachery carried the baby out of the hall.

He held the baby up and played with him for a bit.

Then, while no one was watching, he slipped into the open storage room with the baby.

By the time he came back out, the gold locket around the baby's neck was gone.

The whole security room went quiet in an instant.

Every eye turned to Zachery at once.

The same people who'd believed him a moment ago all turned on him now, contempt and blame in every look.

Zachery's face was ashen.

"No... it's not like that."

"I was just holding him. Maybe it's the angle."

The officer's expression didn't move.

"The angle?"

"Then explain why the locket around the baby's neck was gone the second you came back out."

Zachery had no answer, and his wife's face went cold and hard.

She looked at him, her voice like ice.

"Zach, is there anything else you want to explain?"

His lips trembled.

"Nita, I... I didn't mean to."

"Money's just been tight lately, and I didn't have enough to put together our third anniversary, and I didn't want to let you down, so I..."

At those words, the last trace of feeling in her eyes vanished.

"Liar!"

"Even now, you're still lying!"

"Say it. Say why you took our son's locket. Was it to pay off gambling debts? Lie to me one more time and we're getting divorced!"

Zachery bowed his head and said nothing, which was as good as admitting all of it.

She was done, utterly. She shook her head.

"Go home and pack your things. I want a divorce."