Framed for Stealing My Mother-In-Law's Gold

In the first year after marrying Victoria Kingsley, I choose to celebrate the holidays with her in her childhood home.

At dinner, my mother-in-law suddenly claims that she's lost her gold bracelet. That's when Victoria's childhood friend, Jonathan Zane, points at me.

"You must be the one who stole the bracelet! After all, you've been a serial pickpocket since you were young!"

Everyone turns to stare at me, their gazes unkind.

I thought Jonathan must have mistaken me for another person, so I tell everyone that I never stole the bracelet.

But Jonathan continues confidently, "You were punished for stealing from others in high school all the time! Not to mention, I saw you at the police station last month! There's no way I'd have gotten the wrong guy!"

Then, Jonathan lays down the details including the time, location, as well as the clothes I was wearing that day.

All I feel is mixed feelings at the moment.

The thing is, I was at the police station because I needed to obtain some evidence. After all, I'd already joined the judiciary a long time ago. Last month, I was even promoted to the presiding district court judge.

My silence only seemed to please Jonathan Zane because a trace of satisfaction flickered in his eyes before he covered it up with a look of righteous disappointment.

"I was trying to handle this quietly and give you some dignity, but clearly that was wasted on you," he said. "Stealing your own mother-in-law's gold bracelet? That's a new low, even for you. Maybe it's better this way. At least Victoria gets to see your true colors."

I kept my eyes on him as I explained, "I did go to the police station that day, but I went there for—"

He cut me off before I could finish, clearly determined to pin this on me no matter what I said. "So, you're admitting you ended up at the police station because you stole something. What else is there to explain?"

I found the situation absurd.

"I said I went to the police station. I never said I was taken there for theft. I was there for work. I needed to pull evidence. If you don't believe me, I can call the police chief right now and have him explain it to you."

I pulled out my phone as I spoke.

A flicker of panic flashed across Jonathan's eyes, and he knocked the phone straight out of my hand.

"Oh, come on. You think slapping a fake name into your contacts is going to fool anyone?" he scoffed. "Victoria's too trusting. That's how you tricked her into marrying you in the first place, but I'm not going to stand by and watch you ruin her life!"

My wife, Victoria Kingsley, hesitated and glanced at me.

My chest tightened as I reminded her, "Honey, you know what I do for a living."

Only then did she speak. "Jonathan, I think you might be misunderstanding this. Michael works at the courthouse. It's normal for him to deal with the police for work."

Then, she turned back to me and added, "Still… You and Jonathan went to the same high school. He wouldn't just make something like this up to slander you, right? If you needed money, you could've told me. We could've figured it out together. You didn't have to take my mom's bracelet."

I stared at Victoria in disbelief, because what she was really saying was that she believed him.

My mother-in-law, Diana Tatum, chimed in sarcastically, her face twisted in displeasure, "Jonathan grew up right in front of us. Why would he lie to us? We thought Victoria married well, but it turns out you're just someone who can't keep his hands to himself."

My father-in-law, Caleb Kingsley, fixed me with a cold, probing stare.

"Working at the courthouse requires a clean record and a thorough background check. If you were stealing back in high school, then either you shouldn't be working there, or you're lying about your job."

For a moment, I was taken aback by his logic. After all, if I worked at the courthouse, then there was no way I had a history of theft.

But then again, from the very beginning, Victoria's parents never thought much of me.

They were educated, well-connected, and convinced I was beneath her, and the only reason I'd want to marry her was to live off her.

To prove to them that I truly loved Victoria, I bought a house and a car outright, agreed without hesitation to the 1.2-million-dollar engagement gift they demanded, and even spent tens of thousands of dollars on gifts this time when I came back.

And yet, after everything, they still looked at me as if I were nothing more than a thief.