Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Aren’t You Supposed to Kneel Before Me?
Laura’s face was livid. "I am Mrs. Sloan! Why would I frame a little brat? And to spout nonsense about having evidence—stop making excuses in front of me!"
Estelle smiled. "Evidence? You’ll have to ask Miss Noelle about that."
Noelle bit her lower lip. "Dr. Lockwood, I don’t know what you mean."
"Miss Noelle claims she gave this bracelet to Mrs. Sloan, while Mia says the bracelet was originally hers. Proving who is lying is simple. Just show the purchase record. Whoever can’t produce it is the liar. Noelle, where is your purchase record?"
Laura immediately turned her head. "Noelle, give her the purchase record!"
Seeing this, Noelle could only nod. "Please wait a moment, Mrs. Sloan. I’ll find it right now."
She looked down and scrolled through her phone, a flash of pure venom in her eyes. What she had bought was a fake to begin with—where on earth was she supposed to conjure up a purchase record?!
"Mrs. Sloan, it seems it’s been too long. I can’t find the payment record, and the original receipt is gone too." Two minutes later, Noelle said helplessly, "But when I gave the bracelet to Mrs. Sloan, many people were present. If Dr. Lockwood doesn’t believe me, she can ask them."
Estelle’s tone was meaningful. "Can’t find the payment record, or is there no payment record? Let me rephrase the question, Miss Lockwood... was the one you gave to Mrs. Sloan authentic?"
Instantly, everyone looked at Noelle. Noelle’s heart skipped a beat!
She quickly recovered, her eyes turning red as if she had suffered some massive grievance. "Dr. Lockwood, what do you mean by this? She is Mrs. Sloan, and I am a daughter of the Lockwood family. With our status, how could we possibly buy fakes? I know you don’t like me, Dr. Lockwood. If you want to target me, I’ll take it all, but you shouldn’t slander Mrs. Sloan."
Laura had been a little suspicious at first, but hearing Noelle’s words, she immediately stepped forward. "Nathaniel, you heard her! This woman can spin any lie imaginable. There’s no need to discuss this any further! You either kick Yara Lockwood out, or I will go public with this matter and ruin this little bastard’s reputation!"
Nathaniel knitted his brows slightly, his gaze landing on Estelle.
Mia curled her lips. "Old lady, you have deep forehead wrinkles, a sallow complexion, and sunken facial features. I advise you to stop creating bad karma with your words, otherwise you will definitely suffer terrible bad luck in the near future."
Laura’s chest ached with anger. "You, you..."
Noelle had told her long ago that this little bastard named Mia Lockwood was always spouting mystical nonsense. "Playing the psychic in front of me... Ah!"
Before she could finish, Laura twisted her ankle and suddenly pitched forward, landing with a heavy THUD that left her face bruised and swollen!
Mia spread her hands. "I told you not to create bad karma with your words."
"Dr. Lockwood, haven’t you had enough?!" Noelle helped Laura up, her eyes brimming with tears as she spoke self-righteously. "Mrs. Sloan is getting on in years. Do you really have to target an elder like this? Mia stole something, and Mrs. Sloan was only trying to teach her a lesson, yet you people slander and curse her! Children like shiny bracelets, and if she made a mistake in the heat of the moment, it’s not like we can’t forgive her. But Dr. Lockwood, for you to aggressively hound the victim—you’re going too far!"
"Victim?" Estelle chuckled. Noelle really did love playing the "victim." "The prerequisite for proving that you and Mrs. Sloan are the victims is that this bracelet actually belongs to you."
Noelle looked helpless and wronged. "I already said, when I gave the bracelet to Mrs. Sloan, many people saw it. This is her bracelet..."
"Does Miss Lockwood not know that Celestar Studio keeps complete records of all its buyers?" Estelle interrupted her indifferently, causing the second half of Noelle’s sentence to get stuck in her throat.
Panic slowly crept onto her face as she wondered what Estelle meant. What did she mean Celestar Studio kept purchase records?!
Estelle tapped her phone screen twice and nonchalantly held it out in front of Noelle. "Only ten of these bracelets were released worldwide, and the buyers’ names are registered on Celestar Studio’s official website. Miss Noelle, may I ask which of these ten people you are?"
Luke White had quickly looked it up as well and whispered to Nathaniel, "Sir, the only Innerlander among these ten buyers is Young Mrs. Qin. I didn’t find Miss Noelle’s name."
The entire living room instantly plunged into dead silence. Could the information on the official website be wrong? With a renowned designer like Celestar, how many eyes were watching? If there were an error, complaints would have been filed long ago. So, since Noelle didn’t have a purchase record for an authentic piece, where did she get a bracelet to give to Laura? It could only be a fake...
Laura sharply whipped her head around. "Noelle?"
"N-no, it’s not..." Noelle’s teeth chattered as she forced a smile. "Actually, I got this bracelet from a foreign business partner..."
"Bought it from a foreign business partner?" Estelle cut in, snatching the words right out of her mouth. "Unfortunately, I collaborated with Celestar Studio last year, so I happen to know these buyers. Tell me, Miss Lockwood, who did you buy it from? I’ll give them a call to ask."
Noelle’s small face was covered in tears. "Maybe I remembered wrong..."
"Then think a bit harder. After all, this concerns Mia’s reputation," Estelle said with a smile.
"I..."
"Even if it’s fake, that doesn’t prove she didn’t steal it!" Laura suddenly snapped out of her daze. Though she couldn’t believe Noelle had given her a counterfeit, Estelle angered her even more. She was Mrs. Sloan! With a son like Nathaniel, no one had ever dared to give her attitude! Yet Yara Lockwood and this Mia Lockwood had gone and exposed the fact that she was wearing a fake. They couldn’t blame her for not holding back anymore!
"Noelle was scammed too, which is why she bought a fake. I believe she didn’t do it on purpose! On the contrary, it’s this Mia Lockwood." Laura’s expression darkened with displeasure. "A child doesn’t know the difference between a fake and an authentic piece. She saw that my bracelet was pretty and stole it. What’s so strange about that?"
"Mia, show everyone the bracelet," Estelle suddenly said.
Mia had been holding it in all day, finally waiting for this very moment. She immediately revealed a sweet smile and placed the bracelet in front of everyone.
Estelle tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Mrs. Sloan, you insist that Mia stole your bracelet. Then may I ask, why does your bracelet have the word ’Mia’ engraved on it?"
The surroundings grew even quieter. It was as if all sound had vanished at this exact moment.
On the inside of the bracelet, there was a tiny, minuscule "Mia." Out of everyone present, Mia was the only one with that name.
Laura was momentarily at a loss for words. "You..."
"Or perhaps Mrs. Sloan needs me to call Celestar so she can personally reveal the truth?" Estelle chuckled softly.
No one answered. At this point, the truth was already painfully obvious.
Estelle let out a light laugh. "Now that I’ve proven Mia didn’t steal anything, according to our agreement, shouldn’t Mrs. Sloan be supposed to kneel before me?"