I ignored Leah after that and patted the locksmith's shoulder, signaling him to go ahead.

Once the door was open, I was definitely kicking that bitch Leah out of the house.

As the sound of the lock-picking grew louder, Leah finally opened the door, though with extreme reluctance.

When she spotted the nosy neighbors who had gathered around, she instantly went all out and turned on the theatrics.

"Oh, is there any justice in this world? This future daughter-in-law of mine sure is something! Not only is she trying to break the lock, but she's even thinking of taking my house for herself!

"Everyone, I've lived here for years, and you all have seen that for yourself! You should know just who this house belongs to!"

Her words had the neighbors nodding as they erupted into chatter.

"That's right. Leah has always lived here, so this must be her house."

"That young woman has such a pretty face, but who would've thought she's this vicious? She's even set her sights on her future mother-in-law's home! Who would dare marry such a woman? She's nothing but a troublemaker!"

Some neighbors even felt indignant on Leah's behalf and offered suggestions.

"Leah, don't be scared! If she won't stop, you should just call the cops! She's caught in the act, and we can all be your witnesses!"

"Right! You can't just let her off easy! Today, she's breaking the lock to seize your house; who knows what she'll do tomorrow? She might throw you and Jon out of the house!"

Leah's lips curved into a smirk as everyone sided with her. Using a voice so soft that only the two of us could hear, she said, "Cassie, be a good girl. Apologize for your actions and unfreeze our card, and I'll stop this. Otherwise, I'll really call the cops—"

"Then call them."

I cut Leah off before she could finish.

Leah flushed bright red in anger when she noticed how calm I appeared.

"Fine! You're the one who told me to do it, so don't you regret it!"

It didn't take long for the police officer to arrive. Leah immediately accused me of trespassing and destroying her private property.

"Officer, hurry up and arrest her! This woman is the worst!"

The neighbors were also pointing accusing fingers at me as they loudly proclaimed themselves as Leah's witnesses.

I spent most of the day at work and would only come back home at night to sleep. Since I wasn't around most of the time, it was only natural that my neighbors didn't recognize me.

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Leah had nothing better to do and were constantly in the house. Thus, the neighbors were more familiar with them, so it wasn't surprising that they would side with the mother-son duo.

The officer didn't immediately conclude the case andturned to ask me, "Is that what happened?"

Shaking my head, I responded, "Of course not. This house belongs to me, and the one trying to forcefully claim it is her."

Leah seemed to have expected I would say that, for a sly gleam appeared in her eyes.

"What proof do you have that this house belongs to you? You don't even have the key to the front door, and the neighbors don't recognize you either. How could you possibly be the homeowner?"

The neighbors instantly agreed with her.

"Leah's right! We've never even seen you before. Just who are you?"

"You don't even have the house key, yet you still claim you're the owner? How ridiculous!"

"Seriously, just take her away already! This is just too embarrassing!"

No wonder Jonathan and Leah had been acting so strange the past few days—they had been laying a trap for me. Thankfully, I had made necessary preparations.

As Leah was urging the officer to take me away, I smirked coldly.

"Who said I didn't have proof?"