Ex Cried as I Wed a Tycoon novel Chapter 315

Lyman paused mid-step and asked, “What’s going on?”

The store manager, nerves etched across her face, turned to him. “Mr. Etheridge, I just noticed—there’s a diamond missing from the earring!”

“I checked carefully before bringing out the store’s signature piece,” she continued, voice trembling. “Everything was in perfect condition, and I even had my staff record a video as we opened the safe. But now…” The manager looked at Lyman with desperate hope, silently pleading with him to believe she was innocent. But whether he did or not was entirely up to him.

She watched Lyman anxiously, terrified that one wrong move would cost her the job she’d worked so hard to keep.

“Find out exactly what happened,” Lyman ordered, his tone clipped.

Isabel, never one to miss an opportunity to stir the pot, chimed in with feigned concern. “Oh dear, how could this have happened? I remember the diamond was perfectly intact when I wore the earring. It’s a pink diamond, not exactly small, and worth a pretty penny, isn’t it?”

Her words cast a heavy silence over the room. No one dared speak—if the diamond wasn’t found, who knew what consequences they’d face?

Just then, Effie emerged from the changing room, dressed in her own clothes again.

“What’s going on?” she asked, taking in the tense atmosphere.

“You’re just in time,” Isabel said, her voice sharp with accusation. “Did you know the earring’s missing a diamond?”

Effie hesitated, eyes flicking to the earring in question. She didn’t answer Isabel directly, but simply reached out. “May I see it?”

“Give it to her,” Lyman instructed, not hesitating for a second. He trusted Effie implicitly—if she had wanted that earring, he would’ve given it to her, the whole company, anything.

Isabel’s eyes widened theatrically, as if genuinely hurt. “Annabel, I’m just telling the truth. Is that a crime?”

Annabel replied coolly, “No one’s blaming you for telling the truth, but you can’t go around making accusations without a shred of evidence.”

At that, Isabel’s composure broke. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she sobbed as though she’d been deeply wronged. “What did I ever do to you? Why, as my boss, do you always defend Effie—the outsider—instead of your own people? Or is there something going on between you two?”

That remark made everyone pause. The way Annabel and Effie had been standing together, supporting each other… Was there something more between them?

Clearly, Isabel’s ploy was working; doubt flickered in the onlookers’ eyes.

But Annabel was never one to play by the rules. She said, “You’re my employee. I’ve watched you grow up. If I’m not siding with you, why would I take Effie’s side? Maybe you’re so eager to blame Effie because you have something to hide.”