Chapter 4

The wealthy woman who had just lost the necklace immediately turned toward Mom and me, her eyes red with panic and anger.

"Give me back my necklace, you thieves!"

"Ma'am, please calm down," I told her. "We've never seen your necklace."

I stepped in front of Mom protectively and stared coldly at Jacob. "There are surveillance cameras all over the lobby. Pull up the footage, and the truth will be out."

A sly smile appeared on Jacob's face. "What a coincidence. The camera covering the couch area broke yesterday. But we don't even need surveillance footage. Other than you two cheap bums, no one else here would steal anything."

His voice turned stern. "Security, pat them down and search their bags!"

Ignoring my objections, he ordered the guards forward. With a theft case involving property worth over 300,000 dollars, the security guards suddenly seemed much less hesitant than before.

Mom did her best to protect her dignity, clutching her tote bag tightly against her chest. "Without the police present and a lawful search warrant, none of you have the right to search me or my personal belongings!"

"Well, that just proves you've got something to hide, then!"

Seeing that the guards were moving too slowly, Jacob charged forward himself. He took advantage of the chaos and slammed directly into Mom.

"Mom!" I exclaimed and immediately reached out to catch her.

Jacob's hand moved incredibly fast. While everyone's attention was on me, he reached into Mom's open tote bag, grabbed something, and violently shook it out.

Suddenly, a dazzling diamond necklace fell out of the bag and hit the floor. Several diamonds came loose, and the necklace was badly bent from the impact.

Mom and I both froze. Neither of us had any idea when that necklace had appeared inside her bag.

"You're caught red-handed! What else do you have to say for yourselves?" Jacob shouted righteously. "This is a 300,000-dollar necklace. Now that it's damaged, you must compensate our guest!"

The wealthy woman rushed forward, picked up the necklace and the scattered diamonds, then rudely pointed at Mom. "You old hag! You look so harmless on the outside, but it turns out you're a thief!"

Faced with this sudden frame-up, Mom trembled with anger. "That man stuffed it into my bag when he bumped into me earlier! I never stole it!"

Jacob stood there with his hands on his hips, looking completely justified. "You're saying I stuffed it in there? Everyone saw how it fell out of your bag, lady!"

I held my trembling mother, my expression hardening. "Since you're pulling this stunt, I'll call the police. They'll be able to check the fingerprints on the necklace.

"If there are none from my mother and only yours, I swear you'll spend the rest of your good years behind bars! Without solid evidence, none of you are touching us!"

The moment Jacob heard about checking fingerprints, a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes. He never expected me to stay this calm, and for a moment, he was at a loss.

The security guards dared not act recklessly. They could only block our way out. The entire situation fell into a stalemate.

"What's going on? It is not appropriate for a hotel lobby like ours to have such a commotion!"

A slightly impatient female voice came from the entrance of the hotel lobby. The moment Jacob heard that voice, his eyes lit up.

"You're finally here!" he exclaimed.

He pointed at Mom and me, accusing, "These cheap bums not only hacked into our system but also stole a VIP guest's diamond necklace. Hurry and have them arrested!"

I turned around and finally came face-to-face with the infamous woman. The moment I saw her face, I froze, only to let out a chuckle the next second.

So, it was her.