Chapter 15

Gary  signaled to one of his security guards to come over. He whispered something in his ear and when the guard turned around to leave, he was smiling. 

'Just you wait, Warren Cole! We will see how long you can keep up with this charade. I will make you pay for embarrassing me like this,' Gary mumbled to himself. He had a devious smile on his face.

Not too long after that, Warren left for the men's room. On his way there he bumped into one of the security guards who were on duty today. The guard glared at him, and after Warren apologized he left. He didn't want to start a fight at Gary's function, since it would embarrass Cassidy who went out of her way to invite him to attend the day. 

After he finished his business in the men's room, he returned to the main hall where the function was held. However, there was a commotion going on. One of the guests lost their necklace. Since it was only wealthy people attending the event, everyone knew just how expensive the necklace was. 

"It was an heirloom I received from my grandmother. The necklace has been passed down for generations," a guests cried frantically. The value of the necklace was at least 50 thousand dollars, but to her it was priceless, since its a keepsake she received. 

Everyone was feeling pity for her and Warren shared the same sentiment. Who had the guts to steal on such an occasion. That person was asking to be humiliated if they were ever found.

At that moment Gary spoke and said "Don't worry Miss Jones. I will do everything in my power to find the culprit and bring him to justice." 

He scanned the crowd and his eyes came to rest on Warren who just joined Cassidy's side.

"Mr Cole, may I ask where you are coming from right now?" Gary said immediately. There was a stern look on his face, but he was battling keeping his excitement on check.

Flustered, Warren answered "I came from the can. However, I do not understand why you would ask me such a question."

Gary approached Warren and said "I believe you know that one of our guests just lost something precious. It would pain me if it was someone who I knew, who took it." 

Warren immediately realized the meaning behind Gary's words. "Do you mean to say I took it Mr Robertson? If so, you need to have a really good reason for speculating something like this," Warren said. He couldn't back down now, since Gary wanted to embarrass him in front of everyone. 

"Not at all, Mr Cole. I'm only being cautious. I think you wouldn't mind me searching you, just to be sure. I am not discriminating against you based on your economic background. I'm only trying to be safe," Gary said. 

"Well go ahead then," Warren said. He didn't have anything to hide, so why would he hesitate. He couldn't wait to see the look on Gary's face when he will find nothing on him. He will be so embarrassed. 

Gary called one of his guards over to search Warren. It would be inappropriate for him as the host to do this himself, so he relegated the duty to one of his subordinates. 

Cassidy looked at Gary with fire in her eyes. If looks could kill, Gary would've been dead 10 times over.

Still remaining calm, Warren allowed the guard to search him. At that moment the guard immediately shouted "What is this?"

After saying that he pulled out a diamond necklace from Warren's pocket. There were gasps all around the room. Everyone was shocked to see Miss Jones' necklace being pulled from Warren's pocket. Even Warren was feeling dumbfounded at this scene.

'Where did this come from. I didn't have this earlier. I've never even seen this necklace,' Warren thought. Just as he was about to explain, he felt a tight slap across his face. 

"You are beyond shameless.! How could you still my precious family heirloom without any remorse. On top of that, you're standing there and pretending as if you didn't even have it," Miss Jones shouted in tears. She was relieved that she could find her necklace, but that relief was overshadowed by her immense rage. She wanted to slap Warren over and over again. 

Warren didn't know where to put his face. He was innocent, but how could he explain himself. The necklace was found in his pocket. All the evidence pointed towards him as the culprit. He left the room and after that Miss Jones lost her necklace. When he returned the necklace was in his pocket. He didn't know what to say.

"Guards, surround him! Make sure to make him regret ever stealing at my function. Take him out of here and teach him a lesson!" Gary shouted. 

"Please wait, Mr Robertson. I didn't take it. There must be a misunderstanding," Warren pleaded. However, no one listened to his words. Even Claire and Cassidy were embarrassed at this. 

"It's one thing to be poor. But stealing should never be a excuse for your poverty. I have misjudged you, Warren" Cassidy said disappointingly. She thought that even though Warren was poor, he still had his dignity. After all he did save her niece. Why did he have to disgrace himself by stealing a necklace?

Warren was lost when he heard Cassidy's words. He thought that she would be the only one who knew him well enough to know that he would never resort to stealing, no matter how poor he is. 

Even Kayla looked at him with eyes filled with disappointment. Is this the same uncle who saved her yesterday? She couldn't even recognize him anymore. 

Warren felt that his world just came crashing down. He was so confident that he will embarrass Gary, however, no he was the one being embarrassed instead. Why would Gary accuse him in the first place? Also, why was he so confident in saying that he was the one who stole the necklace? At that moment Warren saw the security guard who he bumped into earlier. He was standing next to Gary and both of them were smiling.