?


    She made her rounds through the mansion, greeting her countless aunts and uncles with a smile that could light up the room.


    Then, with her arms folded, she strutted over to Madge, "Well, no offense, but this ce is a mess! You ever think of tidying up a bit?"


    Madge had tried, but somehow, within half an hour, it would look even worse than before.


    Abbey couldn''t help herself, "Anyone would think you folks inventedziness, look at this floor, mud all over! And what''s that pile on the table? Smells like a dumpster dive."


    "Good heavens, this towel''s turned ck! What''s it for, scrubbing the grill?"


    Martha snatched it away, "Why are you fussing over my face cloth?"


    Abbey was speechless.


    "Anyway, tomorrow''s Mom''s big 80th birthday bash, and sure, we can overlook a bit of mess among family, but what if the neighbors see? Talk about a disgrace. Maybe put in a little effort, dear?"


    With a disdainful turn of her head, she acted as though she couldn''t bear to look.


    Madge''s face turned sour.


    Irving gave Abbey''s sleeve a pull, signaling her to tone it down a bit.


    Abbey shrugged him off irritably. Why should she stop? She hadn''t even started!


    Madge gave a wry smile, "A bit of chaos with a crowd this size is inevitable. You should actually thank us; otherwise, your ce would be the disaster zone."


    Abbey choked on her retort.


    Madge, ever the diplomat: "Since you''re benefiting from the situation, maybe keep a low profile. Don''t bite the hand that feeds you." "You-"


    "If you''re so bored, why not help me clean up a bit? You were the one worried about bringing shame on the Cole family."


    With that, she went for the broom.


    Abbey looked as if she''d seen a ghost, "I just remembered, I have something urgent to do. Bye!"


    She and Irving couldn''t get out fast enough.


    ...Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.


    Thankfully, the next day was the birthday party.


    After a hearty hotel banquet, rtives and friends went their separate ways.


    Norris and Madge could finally breathe a sigh of relief.


    But, as night fell and they returned home, they found Martha''s family hadn''t left yet!


    Norris was dumbfounded.


    "...Great-Aunt, what''s this? Didn''t the shuttle to the vige leave this afternoon?"


    "Oh, Joie insisted we stay a few more days. When the birthday girl herself says so, how could I refuse?"


    Joie had only brought it up offhand, never thinking they''d take her seriously.


    But taken seriously it was, and why not? Staying at Norris'' expense wasn''t putting her out any.


    Why not be the gracious host if it costs you nothing?


    Norris and Madge exchanged looks, feeling utterly defeated.


    ...


    Roseanne had no time to deal with the uninvited staying rtives as she rushed upstairs.


    She had some experimental data that needed manual updating, and luckily, she had brought the originals with her. Exiting theb that day, she''d thought to print out a copy.


    Now, it was proving useful.


    As she replied to Mamie, she headed to her room.


    Knowing she had brought some sensitive documents with her, she had taken the precaution of locking her room to keep curious rtives at bay.


    She was always careful entering and leaving.


    But the moment she pushed her door open, Roseanne sensed something was off.


    The desk was clearly tampered with,


    herptop closed when she was


    sure it had been left open, the pen holder knocked over, its contents scattered.


    The chair was pushed far away from the desk, into a corner.


    Yet, these were minorpared to the worst of it-


    Her documents were gone!