“What happened with Fifi?” Charlotte carried Ellie over to Fifi’s cage.
“Mommy, look!”
Jamie was standing on top of a wooden bench. Leaning forward a little, he was poking something in the cage with a stick.
Standing opposite him, Robbie was making a scary face at Fifi. “Fifi! If you don’t cooperate, we’ll pluck out all your feathers!”
“What in the world is going on?” Charlotte exclaimed. As she took a closer look, she gasped.
The Sterling family’s missing bracelet laid there, on top of a pile of bird poop in Fifi’s cage.
Furthermore, Fifi was using its wings to guard the bracelet.
When Jamie tried to extract the bracelet using a stick, Fifi would peck on his stick agitatedly.
“I found it this morning when I was trying to clean up Fifi’s cage… “ Mrs. Berry said exasperatedly.
“The bracelet itself is also covered in bird poop. It’s pretty hard to notice,” she added with a forced smile.
“Urgh! I knew it! Why else would it have gone missing? I kept it safe that day in my pencil case,” Ellie smirked with her hands on her hips.
“So it’s you!” She pointed angrily at Fifi.
“Dumb Fifi! The last time, you ate a chip, now a bracelet? Stealing is a crime, you know?” Robbie joined in on the reprimand.
“Well, Fifi seems to like shiny, sparkly things… “ Jamie said, opening the cage to get the bracelet out.
Sensing danger, Fifi began flapping its wings in protest. “Mine! Mine!” It screeched.
“It’s not yours!” Ellie was seriously feeling angry at her pet. “Do you even know what you have done? You got us in so much trouble! And Mommy had to pay so much money!”
“Mine! Mine!”
Unfortunately, Fifi did not seem to understand the message. Instead, it began to protect the poop-covered bracelet even more aggressively than before.
“Fifi, you can’t do this! Give it back!”
“Fifi, it’s not yours! You can’t take it!”
“Fifi, I’ll really be mad at you if you keep this up!”
The three kids began chiding the little parrot with the worst accusations that they could think of.
Standing by their side, Mrs. Berry was at a loss for what to do.
Meanwhile, Charlotte ran back to her room and called Luna. Now that she had found the bracelet, she wanted to contact the Whites to get her ruby necklace back.
However, none of her calls got through.
Charlotte then tried to call Amanda, but to no avail.
When Charlotte tried calling Simon, the call finally got through. “Charlotte… “
“Hi Uncle Simon, do you know where Aunt Amanda and Luna are? I need to talk to them about something… “ Charlotte asked anxiously.
“Oh, they actually left for F Nation this morning! Along with Timothy,” Simon replied.
“What?” Charlotte was absolutely stunned. “But… but it’s not even seven yet, so maybe they are still on the way? Can you contact them for me? I’ll… “
“They have already left,” Simon cut her off. “Their flight is at seven-thirty in the morning. They called me ten minutes ago, telling me that they have already boarded the plane. They should be taking off soon.”
“But… but I found the bracelet!” Charlotte said in distress. “Is the ruby necklace still at home? I’ll bring you the bracelet… “
“Luna took the ruby necklace along with her,” Simon added hastily. “Charlotte, I’ll be going to the company soon, so I’ll end the call here. Do bring the kids for a meal at my house when you have the time.”
“Uncle Simon… “ Before she could finish her sentence, Simon hung up the call on her.
Holding onto her phone, Charlotte clenched her teeth in rage. I should have known better. It wouldn’t be easy to get the ruby necklace back now that the Whites have their hands on it.
But I’ll have to get it back, or I’ll be signing that slave contract with Zachary…
No matter how hard it was to deal with the Whites, Zachary still felt far scarier to her.
After moments of hesitation, Charlotte dialed for Hector Sterling.
