The moment I understood what the cat was saying, I froze. King, the stray tabby I always fed, was pacing around my feet in frantic circles. His tail was puffed up, his fur standing on end, and he was letting out sharp, panicked cries. “Meow.
Two legs. Dumb two legs. Don’t trust him. The male two legs and the new female two legs are plotting to steal your big nest.
They said your drawings can buy lots of fish. Once they trick you, they’re going to throw you out. Watch out for that female. Inside her bag, there’s a weird little bottle.
Danger. High danger. ”
I could understand animals. It had started after an accident years ago, but I usually treated it as random cat gossip.
Not this time. Austin’s voice came through the phone speaker, dripping with an overly sweet, apologetic tone. He rarely talked to me like this. “Chloe, babe, can we talk about something?
”
My stylus paused on my drawing tablet, leaving an unnatural dark smudge on the cat whiskers I was sketching. “Sure, what’s up? ”
“So, you remember Mia? My mom’s friend’s daughter.
Her college dorm is undergoing some emergency maintenance, and she needs a place to crash for a few days. ”
My heart sank. I remembered Mia. She was the girl Austin’s mom basically treated like a daughter.
I’d met her twice. She looked sweet, but whenever she smiled at me, the warmth never reached her eyes. “For how long? ” I asked, my voice turning cold.
“Like a week? Maybe less,” Austin said vaguely. “She’s just a young girl in a big city. Hotels aren’t safe.
And my mom… ”
I stayed silent. My apartment was a one-bedroom place, my sanctuary where I lived and worked as a freelance illustrator. I loved my solitude.
The idea of a stranger invading my personal space made me instinctively want to refuse. “Chloe? ” Austin’s voice turned whiny, almost pleading. “I know you hate being disturbed, but if you don’t agree, my mom will definitely make her stay with me.
You know my apartment only has one bed. I really don’t want another girl staying at my place, not even for a few days. ”
His words were like a sweet treat, perfectly soothing my insecurities. The boundaries he showed made me feel like I was his one and only.
Maybe I was just overthinking. “Fine, but she can’t disturb my work. ”
“You’re the best, Chloe. I knew you’d understand.
”
The next afternoon, the doorbell rang. Through the peephole, I saw Austin standing outside with a beaming Mia next to him. She was wearing a designer dress and pulling a massive suitcase. That did not look like she was staying for just a few days.
“Chloe, thank you so much for having me. ” Mia’s voice was sickeningly sweet. She walked right in as if she owned the place. “Wow, your apartment is so cute and cozy.
Did you paint all of these? They’re amazing. ”
Austin followed her in, smiling at me. “I’ll leave Mia in your hands then.
”
I forced a smile. “Sure. Come on in. ”
Just as I turned to get them some water, I felt a frantic scratch at my ankle.
King had sneaked in when the door opened. Normally, at this hour, he’d be sunbathing in the courtyard. But right now, he was circling me in tight, frantic circles, screaming. “Meow.
Two legs. Don’t trust him. They are planning. Planning to steal your big nest.
They said your drawings can buy lots of green paper. Once they get it, they’ll kick you out. Watch out for the female. In her bag, there’s a weird little bottle.
Danger. Very danger. ”
My blood ran cold. Austin and Mia looked over, confused.
“Chloe, what’s wrong? You look so pale,” Austin said. “Just a bit dizzy. Low blood sugar, probably.
You guys sit down. I’ll go down to the convenience store to grab some drinks. ”
I needed space to think. I practically stumbled out of my own apartment, forgetting even my purse.
Stepping out of the lobby, I saw Tubby, a chubby ginger cat I also fed, napping on the flower bed. I knelt down, my voice shaking. “Tubby, do you know those two people who just went up? ”
Tubby tilted his head and licked his paw.
“Meow. I know them. They smell gross. While you were gone, they sneaked into your room.
They touched your blue folder, the one in the tall wooden box. They also tried to open your glowing flat box, the laptop, but couldn’t. ”
The blue folder. My property deed.
I kept it in my home office drawer. “Meow. The male two legs said they have to hurry. Otherwise, the dumb two legs, that’s you, will find out.
”
“Find out what? ”
“Meow. I forgot. ”
King and Tubby’s stories matched perfectly.
Austin, the man who said he loved me, was plotting to steal my apartment and my hard work. And Mia, that sweet, innocent-looking girl, was hiding something dangerous in her bag. I lingered in the convenience store for a while, bought some drinks, took several deep breaths, and forced myself to look calm before heading back up. When I opened the door again, I had a tired but natural smile on my face.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. ”
Austin and Mia were sitting on the couch looking completely normal. My eyes casually drifted toward my home office. The desk drawer wasn’t fully closed.
It was slightly off from how I always left it. I walked into the office under the pretense of grabbing something. The documents had clearly been shifted. The blue folder was out of place.
I touched my laptop. It was asleep, but the bottom was still warm. The evidence was undeniable. I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.
But I had to play dumb. I walked back to the living room and looked at Mia’s designer handbag sitting in the corner. “Mia, you must be tired from the trip. Do you have toiletries in your bag?
I have brand new ones here, so you don’t have to unpack your things. ”
As I spoke, I reached out, pretending to help her with her bag. “I’m good. ” Mia’s reaction was incredibly fast.
She practically lunged forward to snatch the bag into her arms, her face instantly twisting into a look of fear and hurt. “I brought everything. I don’t want to bother you, Chloe. ”
Austin immediately stood up, placing himself between me and Mia.
“Chloe, Mia can handle her own stuff. Girls have private things in their bags. ” He paused, looking at me with a hint of accusation. “What’s wrong with you today, anyway?
Why are you suddenly so interested in her bag? ”
Right on cue, Mia’s eyes turned red and she began to sob quietly. “Chloe, do you hate me? Do you think I stole something?
I didn’t. I really just came here to stay. ”
They played off each other perfectly, making me look like the paranoid, hostile bully. The last bit of warmth in my heart died.
“Of course not,” I forced a stiff smile. “I was just asking in case you forgot something. ”
For the next two days, I felt like I was walking on a tightrope. Suppressing my disgust and fear, I played the part of the clueless host.
Mia kept showing a creepy amount of interest in my digital art, constantly asking how much my illustrations sold for. Austin visited even more often, acting like the perfect boyfriend. He never knew I was recording. King and Tubby kept feeding me information.
“Meow. The male two-legs has a lot of green paper with the old man’s face. Bad guys are chasing him. The bottle in the female’s bag smells like sleep.
Makes the head dizzy. They are planning to take you to eat food. Then you will sleep. ”
Drugging me.
They were going to drug me. My solo art exhibition, something I had prepared for months, was opening tomorrow at an art center in the suburbs. Both Austin and Mia insisted on going to support me. It was the perfect secluded location, far away from the busy city center.
On the day of the exhibition, everything seemed to go smoothly. My art got great feedback. Austin and Mia stayed by my side the entire time, smiling and showering me with compliments. But I knew this was just the calm before the storm.
By the time the exhibition ended, it was already evening. The art center was in a remote area, and the streets were practically empty. “Chloe, today was a massive success. We have to celebrate.
” Austin wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “I know this private tasting menu restaurant nearby. It’s super exclusive. I already booked a table.
”
Mia grabbed my other arm. “Yes, Chloe, you worked so hard. You have to pamper yourself. ”
Here it was.
They were making their move. Cold sweat broke out across my back. I couldn’t go. But how could I refuse?
It was hard to get an Uber out here. “I’m… I’m really tired. I think I just want to go home.
”
“No way. ” Austin’s tone carried a sudden, unquestionable firmness. “We have to celebrate. Come on, the car is over there.
”
They were incredibly insistent, practically dragging me toward the parking lot. When we reached my SUV, Austin said, “Let’s take your car. I might have a drink, and Mia doesn’t drive. ”
I froze for a second, then took the keys and unlocked the doors.
“Okay, you guys get in first. I think I left something in the exhibition hall. I’ll be right back. ”
I turned and walked quickly back toward the art center.
Once I got about fifty feet away, I darted into the shadows of the building. I pressed the button on my phone. My old phone was still in the cup holder of the SUV, recording from the angle I had set before we left. A tiny recorder was tucked under the driver’s seat, taped beneath the plastic ridge.
From the shadows, I watched Austin lean close to Mia. “What is she doing? Maybe she actually forgot something. ”
Austin’s face twisted.
“She is always like this. Nervous over nothing. We need to get her in the car before she thinks too much. ”
Mia hugged her designer bag tighter.
“The bottle is ready. Once we get her to the restaurant, I will put it in her drink. She will get dizzy, not unconscious. Just enough to make her look drunk and confused.
”
My stomach clenched. Austin ran a hand through his hair. “After that, I can get her phone. She uses the same password pattern for everything.
Her tablet, laptop, art account. I know her. ”
“You said you tried the laptop and couldn’t get in. ”
“I didn’t have enough time.
She came back too fast. But if she is out of it, I can use her face ID or make her unlock it. We only need access to the licensing platform and cloud storage. ”
Mia’s voice grew sharper.
“And the apartment documents? ”
“Still working on it. The property is fully in her name, but if we can get her to sign authorization or transfer rights under the art business, we can use that as leverage. Her unreleased illustrations are worth more than she realizes.
” He laughed once, low and ugly. “She trusts me. She always thinks the best of people. ”
Mia answered without hesitation.
“That is why she is useful. ”
The words did not shock me as much as I expected. Maybe King had already ripped the blindfold off. I only felt something cold settle inside me, flat and clean.
He used my kindness as a doormat, then acted surprised when the house had locks. A soft rustle came from the planter beside me. A calico cat stepped out like she owned both the shadows and the building. Her tail was high.
Her eyes moved from me to the SUV with aristocratic disgust. “Meow. Pretty two-legs. The shiny smell girl has sleep water.
The male two-legs smells like debt, lies, and cheap sausage. ”
I almost laughed. “Meow. Queenie.
This is my gallery. Humans rent it for my patience. ”
From somewhere near the bushes, a familiar furious yell tore through the parking lot. King burst into view like a tiny striped soldier charging into battle.
“Meow. War. Big nest thief in metal box. Claws ready.
”
Then Tubby appeared from behind a parked van, waddling with heroic effort. “Meow. I walked all the way here. This revenge better include tuna.
”
I blinked at him. “How did you even get here? ”
“Meow. Followed stink.
Also saw food truck. Got distracted. Return to mission. ”
Queenie leaped onto the hood of my SUV with the elegance of a royal executioner.
“Meow. I claim the shiny box. It is beneath me, but justice requires sacrifice. ”
Tubby waddled directly in front of the rear wheel and lowered himself onto the ground like a furry orange barricade.
“Meow. I am round justice. No car move until tuna contract signed. ”
King circled Mia’s legs, tail puffed, eyes blazing.
Mia flinched. “Ugh, where did these cats come from? ”
Austin looked around, uneasy. “Ignore them.
Chloe will be back any second. ”
King lunged toward Mia’s bag and hooked one claw into the leather strap. “Meow. Danger bag.
Sleep water. Bad smell. Bite. Can bite?
”
I stepped out of the shadows before she could touch him. “Touch him and I will make sure your designer bag becomes evidence with handles. ”
Mia jerked so hard the bag slipped from her grip. It hit the pavement, half open.
A little dark bottle rolled out and spun beneath the SUV, stopping under the security light. Queenie hopped down, batted it once with her paw, then recoiled as if insulted. “Meow. Poison pebble.
Poor taste. Bad packaging. ”
Austin’s face went gray. “Chloe, baby, this is a misunderstanding.
”
“’Baby’ died when you tried to drug the artist and steal the gallery. ”
His hand shot out toward my arm. I stepped back at once, putting the SUV between us. “Don’t touch me.
”
“Chloe, listen to me. Mia brought that. I didn’t know. ”
My phone buzzed.
The art center security guard. I had warned him before the exhibition ended that if I did not return in three minutes, he should check the parking lot and call for help. He arrived with a flashlight and two staff members behind him. I pointed to the bottle.
“Please don’t touch it directly. I think it may be something they plan to put in my drink. ”
Mia burst into tears immediately. “It is just skin care.
Chloe has hated me since I arrived. She is making this up. ”
King hissed at Austin so violently that even the security guard took half a step back. “Meow.
Male two legs smells like panic and cheap fish. ”
Austin raised both hands. “Everyone calm down. Chloe is stressed.
She has anxiety. She over thinks. She talks to stray cats, for God’s sake. ”
The security guard looked at Queenie sitting on the hood, Tubby blocking the wheel, and King standing in front of me like a furry bodyguard.
Then he looked at me. “Miss Chloe, do you want me to call the police? ”
“Already done. ” I held up my main phone.
“So is the recording. ”
For one second, nobody moved. Then Mia lunged for my hand. I stepped back.
King was faster than all of us. He shot forward with a wild yell, not touching her, only exploding into motion near her feet. Mia screamed and stumbled backward. The first police siren sounded faintly in the distance.
Austin’s expression shifted from panic to calculation. “Chloe, please. If the police get involved, this ruins everything. I owed money, okay?
I panicked. I needed money, but I never meant to hurt you. ”
“You didn’t slip into betrayal. You packed a suitcase and moved in.
I loved you. ”
“No, you loved my square footage, my password, and my profit margin. Unfortunately for you, only one of those ever loved you back, and it was the password. I changed it.
”
His lips parted. Mia grabbed his sleeve. “Austin, do something. ”
He looked at her as if she had suddenly become heavy.
That was the first crack between them. I turned to the security guard. “I want everyone inside the art center. There are cameras, staff, and witnesses there.
They were trying to get me into a car and take me somewhere isolated. I am not standing in a dark parking lot for their convenience. ”
Queenie jumped down and led the way, tail high. “Meow.
Court will be held indoors. Better lighting. ”
Inside the art center, half the exhibition staff was still cleaning up. A few collectors lingered near the back wall.
The curator hurried over the moment she saw my face. “Chloe, what happened? ”
I handed her my phone. “I need the projector.
”
Austin’s voice sharpened. “Chloe, don’t do this publicly. ”
I looked back at him. “You searched my desk, my laptop, my property documents, and my art files.
You did everything except search your own conscience. I understand. Empty rooms are boring. ”
The curator’s face went cold.
The projector screen lowered. I did not tell them about the cats. Cute witnesses were wonderful, but human evidence paid better. The first audio clip played.
Austin and Mia in the SUV. “We need to get her in the car before she thinks too much. The bottle is ready. I can get her phone.
We only need access to the licensing platform and cloud storage. Her unreleased illustrations are worth more than she realizes. ”
The room went dead quiet. One collector lowered his champagne glass very slowly.
The second clip played. Apartment security footage. I had installed the camera two days ago in a tiny shelf ornament after King first warned me. It showed Austin and Mia entering my office while I was supposedly in the shower.
Mia opened the drawer. Austin pulled out the blue folder. They photographed my property deed. Then Austin tried my laptop twice, failed, and cursed under his breath.
The next slide showed laptop access logs, failed attempts, timestamps, then messages I had retrieved from the backup notification on Austin’s old tablet, which he had once linked to my Wi-Fi and forgotten. “Mia, get the files after the exhibition. She will be exhausted. ”
“Austin, restaurant first.
She gets emotional when tired. Easier. ”
“Mia, what about the deed? ”
“Austin, I saw where she keeps it.
We need leverage, not ownership yet. ”
“Mia, and if she says no? ”
“Austin, she won’t. Chloe folds when someone cries.
”
The curator covered her mouth. I looked at Mia. “No, Mia. I only opened your bag.
The crime crawled out by itself. ”
Queenie climbed onto Mia’s designer bag, which had been placed on a side table by the security guard. She sat squarely in the middle like a judge passing sentence. “Meow.
Bag guilty. Woman also guilty. I sentence both to no tuna. ”
Mia burst into sobs.
“Austin made me do it. ”
Austin whipped toward her. “You brought the bottle. You owed the money.
You said Chloe was easy. You said she would never fight back. ”
“Because you told me she wouldn’t. ”
The room listened to them destroy themselves better than any speech I could have written.
Then the police walked in. Everything sharpened after that. The bottle was photographed and collected. My phone recordings, backup recorder, apartment footage, messages, laptop logs, and witness statements were taken.
Austin and Mia were taken for questioning. Mia cried so hard her fake lashes lifted at the corners. Austin kept looking at me, not with love, with disbelief. Like a house had slammed the door on him.
As the police escorted him out, he turned once more. “Chloe, please don’t let them do this. ”
“Too late. The cats had better timing than your apology.
”
When Austin’s mother arrived, she was still wearing a pearl cardigan and the expression of a woman who had spent her whole life confusing volume with authority. “Chloe, what have you done? ”
I laughed. I actually laughed.
“Interesting opening. ”
She rushed toward Austin, but an officer stopped her. She turned back to me, eyes blazing. “Austin is young.
He made a mistake. You will ruin his future. ”
“His future was not in Mia’s bottle. Mine was.
”
“Mia is like family. You should have called me first. ”
“You raised a son who thought my apartment was a buffet. Do not complain because the bill came itemized.
”
“You always were strange. ”
“Yes. And yet the cats were the sensible ones. That must be embarrassing for everyone else.
”
By midnight, the story was already online. Someone had recorded Queenie sitting on Mia’s bag. Someone else had captured Tubby blocking the SUV wheel like a furry orange traffic cone. My line about the crime crawling out by itself became the caption on three different videos before I even got home.
By morning, the trends were ridiculous. “Three Witnesses. ” “Round Justice. ” “No Tuna for Criminals.
” “Dumb Two-Legs. ” “The Artist Saved by Cats. ” “Bag Guilty, Woman Guilty. ”
News outlets were more careful.
They called it an alleged fraud and drugging scheme against a freelance artist. The internet, however, had no such restraint. Tubby became a meme. Someone edited heroic music over him lowering his round body in front of the SUV tire.
Queenie gained fan art within hours. King was called a retired detective in a cat suit. People loved the cats, but collectors loved the work. My exhibition, which had already done well, suddenly sold out.
Clients who had hesitated over my licensing rates began sending emails with the words “urgent,” “exclusive,” and “full payment. ”
The curator called me by noon, voice shaking with excitement. “Chloe, we need to discuss a larger show. ”
I sat on my couch with all three cats staring at me like tiny shareholders.
“Give me a week. ”
King meowed immediately. “Meow. Tuna.
Now. Justice is hungry. ”
Fine. First tuna, then business.
The legal consequences unfolded with less humor. The bottle’s contents escalated the investigation. The messages showed planning. The recordings showed intent.
The apartment footage showed unauthorized searching through my documents. The laptop logs showed attempted access. The restaurant reservation, the remote location, the pressure to get into my car, all of it lined up like teeth. Austin’s creditors stopped treating him like a desperate man with options.
His clients dropped him. His friends stopped answering. Mia’s dorm maintenance story collapsed, too. Her college confirmed there had been no emergency repairs.
A disciplinary review opened. The formal charges followed soon after: conspiracy, attempted fraud, attempted unauthorized access to my digital accounts, attempted theft of creative property, and possession of a sedating substance with intent to use it against me. Austin accepted a plea that left him with probation, restitution, mandatory counseling, and a criminal record. Mia was suspended from college pending discipline, lost her housing, and had to answer for the bottle, the fake dorm story, and every message she thought sweetness could erase.
A week later, I went to the courthouse hallway for the first hearing. Austin looked exhausted. His confident boyfriend smile was gone, replaced by the damp expression of a man learning that apologies do not unlock handcuffs. Mia stood a few feet away from him in a plain coat, eyes swollen, no designer shine left.
When she saw Queenie in the cat carrier beside me, she actually stepped back. Queenie yawned. “Meow. Bad female fears truth cage.
”
King was in my arms. Tubby was at my feet in a harness, because he had screamed so loudly at being left behind that the entire apartment building heard him. Austin rushed toward me as far as the hallway allowed. “Chloe.
I panicked. I needed money. ”
“Then you should have sold your pride. It had lower market value, but at least it was yours.
”
“I loved you. ”
“No. You loved the version of me who left the door open. ”
His eyes filled.
“I can change. ”
“You already did, from boyfriend to defendant. ”
Mia broke down. “You ruined my life.
”
“No, Mia. You put the bottle in the bag. I only let the cats review your luggage. ”
Austin’s mother appeared behind him, pale and thinner than before.
“You used to love him. ”
“I used to leave spare keys under flower pots, too. We all outgrow bad security. ”
“Mia is like family.
”
“Then keep her. I have enough strays. ”
For once, she had no answer. After that, I rebuilt my life with the kind of attention I used to give only to line work and color balance.
I changed every lock, installed cameras, moved my property deed, tax documents, copyright registrations, and licensing contracts to a lawyer and a safe deposit box. My cloud storage was restructured. My passwords became absurd little monsters even I had to store properly. My home stopped being a hiding place.
It became a fortress with cat hair. Austin was blocked everywhere. Mia, too. Austin’s mother lasted two extra days before she earned the same fate by sending me a message about compassion.
I replied once. “Compassion is feeding strays, not feeding thieves. ” Then I blocked her, too. The new collection came to me faster than sleep.
I called it “The Three Witnesses. ” King became a dramatic tabby general beneath SUV headlights, eyes bright, claws raised. Tubby became the round orange traffic cone of justice, planted before a tire like fate had chosen a nap. Queenie became the calico judge on a designer bag, one paw resting beside a dark little bottle, gaze full of royal disgust.
I painted the blue folder, the apartment window, the half-open office drawer, the red glow of the laptop access warning, the bottle rolling under the SUV lights, the tiny paw print near the evidence marker. The work was cute at first glance. Then people looked closer and saw the teeth. The art center announced the bigger exhibition one month later.
Tickets sold out in two hours. Animal rescue groups asked to partner. Artists wrote to me about exes who had stolen work, managers who had taken passwords, family members who treated creative labor like a piggy bank with feelings. I realized my story was strange, but not rare.
The world was full of people who mistook an artist’s softness for an unlocked door. The night of the new exhibition, the gallery was packed. Three velvet beds sat near the podium. King sat upright like security, wearing a tiny blue bow tie he hated and the internet worshipped.
Tubby slept through the applause on his cushion, one paw hanging over the edge. Queenie sat on a raised velvet throne, looking down at donors, collectors, and reporters as if calculating their tax crimes. A small sign stood near them: “No flash photography. No unauthorized touching.
No crimes near the cats. ” People took more pictures of the sign than some of the paintings. When I stepped up to speak, my hands trembled only a little. “People always told me stray cats were unreliable.
Funny, they were the only ones in my life who told the truth without asking for my apartment. ”
The room laughed, then applauded. Part of the proceeds went to local stray cat rescue. Another part launched the Big Nest Fund, a small emergency fund for artists targeted by partners, family, clients, or anyone trying to steal their home, files, or work.
King yelled from his velvet bed. “Meow. I protected the Big Nest. Payment required.
”
The microphone picked it up. The room exploded. By the time the exhibition ended, every piece in “The Three Witnesses” had sold. The original painting of Queenie on Mia’s bag went to a collector who promised to hang it in her law office.
Tubby’s round justice portrait was bought by the art center itself. King stayed with me because no amount of money could buy the tabby general who had screamed me awake. Later that night, I returned to my apartment. The locks clicked behind me, bright and new.
The security panel glowed softly. My files were backed up. My contracts were protected. My home smelled like fresh paint, tuna, and three cats who believed the couch was now a political territory.
King jumped onto the windowsill. “Meow. Big nest secure. Dumb two legs improving.
”
“Thank you, your generalness. ”
Tubby hauled himself onto the sofa with the effort of a hero returning from war. “Meow. I live here now.
Rent is paid in purring. ”
“You already said that. ”
“Meow. Lease renewal.
”
Queenie entered last. I had left the balcony door cracked because she had refused to be carried like a normal animal. She surveyed the room, then jumped onto the tallest cat tower I had bought that afternoon. “Meow.
I accept this palace. The staff is tolerable. ”
My phone buzzed. Unknown number.
I already knew. “I miss us. ”
I stared at the message for a moment, then looked around. King watching the courtyard like a guard.
Tubby snoring into his cushion. Queenie sitting on her throne. My artwork drying on the desk. My deed safe.
My locks changed. My life mine again. I typed one final reply: “There was no us. There was me, my home, and a man measuring the windows.
”
Then I blocked him. For a second, silence filled the apartment. Then King screamed. “Meow.
Tuna. Now. Justice is hungry. ”
I laughed so hard I had to sit down on the floor.
Tubby opened one eye. “Meow. Laughing delays tuna. Bad management.
”
Queenie stretched, bored, and majestic. “Meow. Staff emotional. Service slow.
”
So I opened three cans of tuna and placed them on the kitchen floor like offerings to tiny household gods. Austin brought Mia into my home because he thought kindness made me stupid. Mia carried a little bottle because she thought sweetness made her harmless. They both forgot one thing.
My apartment had witnesses with claws, whiskers, and extremely judgmental opinions. I lost a boyfriend, but I kept my name, my art, my home, and every lock on every door. King got his tuna. Tubby got his cushion.
Queenie got her throne. And me? I stopped being the dumb two legs in my own nest.
From then on, anyone who wanted to steal from me had to get past three cats, two cameras, one lawyer, and an artist who had finally learned to bite.