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.

Inside the crate, Circe looked up at Gonzalez. The cat's wide brown eyes seemed to sparkle with relief and joy.

Seeing the cat unharmed finally settled the dark storm inside Gonzalez's chest. He popped the latch open, and Circe immediately squeezed out, leaping effortlessly into his arms and purring loudly as he rubbed his head against Gonzalez's chest.

Maisie was no fool. Taking in the grim expressions and spotting the stark, dark bruising forming around Yvonne's neck, she knew she had walked into a warzone. Well, the cat is back, so I won't intrude any longer. Have a good night, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson!"

She spun around and bolted for the door, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.

The moment Maisie was gone, Gonzalez summoned the family driver. "Ms.

Yvonne's hand was supposedly scratched by the cat. Take her to get a rabies vaccine."

Yvonne's eyes widened in sheer panic. "I-It's incredibly late! I can just go by myself in the morning."

"The sooner you get the shot, the better the efficacy. I wouldn't want you contracting a disease and blaming my cat," Gonzalez stated, his tone leaving zero room for argument. He looked at the driver. "Take her. And make sure you watch the needle go into her arm."

Everyone in the house knew Yvonne was severely allergic to the rabies vaccine. It would cause her to break out in agonizing hives, and the injection site would remain swollen and inflamed for days.

Her pupils constricted as she glared at him. She knew exactly what he was doing. This was entirely intentional.

He despised her and her mother. There was zero chance he was genuinely concerned about her health.

When she didn't budge, Gonzalez raised an eyebrow. "Why are you hesitating? Unless... those scratches weren't caused by Circe at all? Did you do that to yourself?"

"Of course it was the cat!" Yvonne blurted out defensively.

"Then get moving," Gonzalez ordered coldly.

Simon's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked between the two. "Your brother is right.

If the cat really scratched you, you need that shot immediately."

Refusing again would expose her lie entirely. With her jaw clenched tight and her

fists balled at her sides, she forced herself to walk toward the front door.

The driver gave Gonzalez a brief nod and hurried out after her.