"Bring out that man right now!" demanded Mr. Talkington with parental authority, "If you confess honestly, we might spare you considering the years we've raised you. Otherwise, forget about going to Paris!"
"What is it that everyone's talking about? Victoria doesn't understand." At this moment, Victoria's only option was to play dumb. She had to clear herself of what had happened unless she had the pair of 'Hand of God'.
"Stop feigning ignorance," Mrs. Talkington smirked ominously, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for getting involved with a man at such a young age? You should leave the Talkington family to avoid ruining our reputation."
Penelope Talkington also sighed on the side, "Victoria, how could you break everyone's hearts like this? Our parents love you so much. Though you always love to play and disobey them, at least think about our feelings, right?"
Victoria had been observing the mother-daughter duo of the Talkingtons for years now. She calmly retorted with a smile, "Penelope, Mrs. Talkington, whenever we accuse someone of something, we should have evidence. Just like you accusing me of seducing someone rich, just like bringing a surveillance video. If you say I am with a man, then at least find me a man!"
"Look, what's that!" Penelope suddenly shrieked and pointed at something on the ground.
Someone rushed forward and picked it up.
Victoria almost passed out as soon as she saw it.
It was a pair of men's black boxer shorts.
This had to be a joke; in the chaos of the moment, she had stuffed the man's clothes into the locker and must have accidentally left this out.
"Ha, caught you red-handed, haven't we?" Mrs. Talkington conveyed her sense of triumph, "How do you explain these shorts? They belong to your secret lover, don't they? Don't say you don't know!"
"What are you talking about, Mrs. Talkington?" Victoria chuckled. You couldn't tell from her calm expression that she was panicking inside, "Just because you found a pair of men's boxers does it mean there's a secret boyfriend hiding? You're so desperate for a man, it would break your husband's heart."
Saying what was needed to divert everyone's attention was all Victoria could do for now.
The angrier they are, the less likely they are to find the man.
As expected, Mr. Talkington and his wife were so livid at Victoria's words that they immediately rolled up their sleeves and wanted to start beating her.
But Penelope was shrewd enough to interrupt, "But, we were asking about the owner of the boxers. Why are you changing the topic?"
Mr. Talkington and his wife stopped dead in their tracks at Penelope's word
"How should I know?" Victoria shrugged, "You should ask the hotel manager about the cleaning service. They left a guest's clothing behind and didn't even notice."
"Stop playing innocent!" Mrs. Talkington laughed coldly, "This is solid proof that you've stolen someone else's man! You can't deny this!"
Upon hearing this, Victoria felt defensive and retorted, "A pair of boxers alone can't prove there's a man. If so, why do women have to give birth? The clothing factories could then be responsible for human reproduction!"
Everyone in the Talkington family was stunned by Victoria's witty response.
They had always thought of her as a delicate wallflower who bore everything quietly. They underestimated her, thinking her to be weak when in reality, she had a heart of steel. They found out the hard way, getting a nasty bite when they expected a squishy bun.
"Hey, why won't this cabinet open?" the sudden shout from Mr. Talkington disrupted everyone.
Everyone's eyes turned to the row of big cabinets on the wall.
Victoria felt her heart plummet - they had finally discovered it.
However, Mr. Talkington immediately exclaimed, "The cabinet is locked! It's... it's a combination lock!"
"Good! A combination lock!" Mrs. Talkington immediately cried out, "The secret boyfriend must be inside! Victoria, hand over the key right now."
"Yeah, Victoria, hand over the key. How can you lock a person in a cabinet?" Penelope upbraided her with a hypocritical expression.
"Hurry up, hand it over." Mr. Talkington also extended his hand.
Everyone in the Talkington family knew that Victoria was a cryptography major and often carried objects related to her field of study.
If the combination lock wasn't hers, whose could it be?
Victoria couldn't help but smirk.
Granted that the combination lock was hers and that she did lock the cabinet.
She implored that the Talkington family might want to use their brains for once.
If it's called a combination lock, it naturally requires a combination to open. Where's the key in it?
If you want to mention a key, that only exists in Victoria's mind... she didn't believe they could pluck her brain out to open the cabinet.
Hank Clegg inside the cabinet frowned when he heard the sound of the external lock. Was this girl trying to keep him inside on purpose?
From the sounds of it, the Talkingtons wouldn't rest until they broke open the cabinet. Left with no choice, he had to disregard the girl's reputation and break out himself.
Hank Clegg lifted his wrist to adjust his wristwatch to a special number. A tiny tube slid out silently from the winder of the watch.
With a gentle press, the tube produced a blue flame. Made from special chemicals, this flame could melt the hardest metal instantly. A minor combination lock couldn't hold him back. All he needed to do was target the gap in the cabinet door and swipe his wrist lightly, and the lock would fall.
He was already neatly dressed.
So, it was the Talkington family who were well known in the city for their charity work?
At this moment, Hank Clegg was quite curious. When he came out of the cabinet, what expression would the patriarch of the Talkington family have on his face?
At this moment, the Talkingtons were outside eagerly trying to unlock the cabinet. On one hand, they demanded Victoria hand over the key, on the other hand, they were calculating with their limited mathematical knowledge about how to pry open this sturdy cabinet.
Victoria knew she would eventually be caught, but at least she had previously taken a stand against all the Talkingtons, thereby dissolving the accumulated depression of the past decade.
She had decided that, once the cabinet was open, she would walk up in front of everyone and announce that the man inside was her long-time boyfriend.
Great! She just didn't believe it. Is there any law in this world that stipulates she couldn't date? Or is there another law that stipulates she, as an adult woman, couldn't sleep with her boyfriend?
The overly modernized first-tier city they lived in wasn't Afghanistan or the feudal society of the 18th century!
Just as Hank Clegg's watch flame was aimed at the door of the cabinet, just as the Talkingtons used a stick from somewhere to pry open the cabinet, and just when Victoria was about to rise to confront everything...
A stern and authoritative voice suddenly came from the doorway, "Nobody move!"