The moment Mark Anderson realized the people surrounding him were police officers rather than hired thugs, he relaxed slightly.
At least this situation could be explained, although he still had no idea why more than a dozen officers had just forced their way into Evelyn Parker’s house.
Keeping both hands visible, he asked, “Officer, can somebody please tell me what’s going on?”
Two officers stepped forward, quickly checked that Mark wasn’t carrying a weapon, and kept him where they could see him.
The supervising officer then said, “We received a report of a possible unlawful entry at this residence and concern that the homeowner may have been harmed.” Mark stared at him in disbelief.
“Harmed? I’m the one standing here half naked because you just came through the front door.”
“That’s exactly why I called!” The woman from earlier stepped forward from behind the officers and pointed angrily at Mark.
“This is my daughter’s house. I came here and found a strange man inside, covered in sweat, acting suspiciously, with a huge black garbage bag sitting behind the door. I couldn’t reach Evelyn, so what exactly was I supposed to think?”
Mark blinked.
“Wait. Your daughter is Evelyn Parker?”
“Yes!”
The woman immediately turned toward the officers.
“See? He knows her name. That makes it even more suspicious.”
The supervising officer remained considerably calmer.
“Knowing the resident’s name isn’t proof of anything.” He looked back toward Mark.
“What is your relationship with Evelyn Parker?”
“She’s my boss.” Mark answered immediately.
“I’m a contracted director with Silverline Pictures. She asked me to stay here for a few days and take care of her cat while she was away.”
One of the younger officers suddenly stared at him more carefully.
“Wait. You’re Mark Anderson.”
Mark glanced toward him.
“You directed Jaws, right? I saw it last night.”
“I directed it and played Martin Brody.”
The officer looked genuinely surprised, but the supervising officer quickly returned everyone’s attention to the situation.
Mark continued, “Evelyn temporarily moved out and asked me to house-sit. I assumed she was avoiding someone because money at Silverline had been tight, but apparently I was wrong about who she was avoiding.”
The woman immediately snapped, “Money problems? Don’t be ridiculous. Evelyn’s family has plenty of money.”
Mark frowned and looked her over.
“Can I ask how old you are?”
Her angry expression immediately softened into something almost smug.
“How old do you think I am?”
The entire room went quiet.
Even several of the officers looked momentarily confused.
Mark resisted the urge to sigh.
“Late thirties?”
“What?” The woman looked offended.
“People usually guess twenty-seven.”
Mark stared at her.
Then he looked toward the officers as if silently asking whether anyone else was hearing this.
“Evelyn is in her twenties,” he finally said.
“How exactly are you supposed to be her mother?”
The woman planted both hands on her hips.
“Have you never heard of a stepmother?”
Mark went silent.
That made considerably more sense.
Before he could respond, one of the officers who had been searching the house returned to the supervising officer.
“We cleared both floors. Nobody else is inside, and there’s no sign of a struggle. The black bag is just household trash.”
“Meow.”
Marshmallow slipped through the open cat-room door and immediately trotted toward Mark.
The black cat rubbed against his bare ankle before sitting beside him as though the armed police in the living room were completely normal.
The supervising officer looked from the cat to Mark, then toward the woman.
“Mrs. Parker, did you actually see anyone injured when you came here?”
“No.” She pulled out her phone.
“Try calling her again.”
“Fine.”
Mrs.
Parker dialed.
The phone rang several times.
Nobody answered.
That was enough for the supervising officer to glance suspiciously toward Mark again.
Mark immediately raised one hand.
“Can I call her? She usually answers me.”
After a moment of consideration, the officer nodded.
“My phone is charging in the guest room.”
An officer retrieved it for him.
Mark unlocked the screen, found Evelyn’s contact, and called.
The phone rang several times.
Then someone finally answered.
“Hello? What is it?”
Evelyn’s tired voice came through the speaker.
Mark immediately exhaled.
“Evelyn, you need to come home.”
Her voice sharpened.
“Why?”
“There’s a woman here claiming to be your mother, and she brought enough police officers to invade a small country. They found me in your house wearing a towel, so this has become extremely difficult to explain.”
Silence followed.
Then Evelyn asked, “Is Vanessa Parker there?”
Mark looked toward the woman.
“Vanessa?”
The woman’s expression darkened.
“That girl really has no respect.”
She walked forward and took the phone from Mark, instantly changing her tone.
“Evelyn, sweetheart. Why weren’t you answering? Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
“I was working and didn’t see the calls.” Evelyn’s voice remained cold.
“Mark is my employee. I personally asked him to stay at my house, so please stop interfering with him.”
Vanessa looked slightly embarrassed.
“I was worried about you. Why did you suddenly leave home?”
“We can discuss that later. First, let the police leave.”
The supervising officer stepped closer.
“Ms. Parker, this is Sergeant Collins. Given the circumstances, we’d prefer to confirm in person that you’re safe before we close this call.”
Evelyn remained silent for several seconds.
“Fine. I’ll come over.”
Roughly half an hour later, Evelyn walked through the damaged front entrance.
She immediately stopped.
More than a dozen police officers were scattered around her living room, Mark was sitting on the couch wearing nothing but a towel while calmly petting Marshmallow, and Vanessa stood nearby looking increasingly uncomfortable.
Even Evelyn needed several seconds to process the scene.
She walked directly toward Mark.
“Are you okay?”
“You should probably deal with all this first.”
Mark tilted his chin toward Vanessa.
“Evelyn!” Vanessa immediately hurried over.
“Are you all right? I couldn’t reach you, and when I came here there was this strange man inside. I was terrified something happened to you.” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Evelyn stepped subtly away from her.
“Mrs. Parker, give me a minute. I need to explain the situation to the officers.”
She spoke privately with Sergeant Collins for several minutes, confirming that Mark had permission to stay in the house and that she had left voluntarily.
Once the officers were satisfied that no crime or emergency had occurred, they apologized for the confusion, gave Evelyn instructions about repairing and securing the damaged entrance, and gradually cleared out.
Soon, only three people remained in the living room.
Mark.
Evelyn.
Vanessa.
“Meow.”
And Marshmallow.
Evelyn sat on the couch with an expression cold enough to lower the temperature of the room.
Vanessa sat opposite her, clearly wanting to speak but seemingly uncertain where to begin.
Mark looked between them.
Then down at himself.
“I’m going to put on pants.”
He picked up Marshmallow and retreated toward the guest room before either woman could object.
The moment Mark disappeared, Vanessa shifted awkwardly in her seat.
“Evelyn, is he really an employee? You’re a young woman living alone. Letting a male employee stay here like this doesn’t seem very careful.”
“That’s my private life.” Evelyn’s eyes remained cold.
“It has nothing to do with you, Mrs. Parker.”
Vanessa immediately fell silent.
For several seconds, she seemed to struggle with what to say.
Then her eyes reddened slightly and her voice softened.
“Evelyn, I know you still hate me, but feelings aren’t always something people can control. I never wanted to hurt you. What happened happened, and I can’t change it now.”
Evelyn laughed coldly.
“Don’t perform for me.”
Vanessa froze.
“If you want to cry,” Evelyn continued, “go cry at my mother’s grave.”
Her voice became sharper.
“Let her see how the younger sister she trusted more than anyone ended up sleeping with her husband after she died.”
Inside the guest room, Mark froze.
“Meow?”
Marshmallow looked up at him.
Mark slowly pushed the door open a fraction.
Two heads appeared in the crack—one human and one feline.
He stared toward the living room in complete shock.
So Vanessa wasn’t merely Evelyn’s stepmother.
She was Evelyn’s maternal aunt.
Mark had known that Evelyn came from a wealthy family.
Her father, Richard Parker, was chairman of Parker Development Group, one of California’s largest privately held real-estate companies, although Evelyn strictly prohibited Silverline employees from discussing her family background inside the company.
She had also refused every suggestion that Silverline cooperate with Parker Development’s entertainment investments or affiliated media companies.
Most employees assumed she simply wanted to prove she could build something without her father’s help.
Apparently, the real reason was much more complicated.
Mark looked down at Marshmallow.
“So Evelyn’s stepmother is also her aunt.”
The cat stared back at him.
Mark frowned.
“Wait.”
He mentally started drawing the family tree.
“No, that actually is complicated.”
(End of Chapter 22)