Chapter 15 He’s Here to Back Her Up
Alice picked up the brooch again.
“Do you see this crease here? It was made by a sharp object. That kind of mark can only be made by something with a blade.”
She held it up in her right hand. “If I was holding it like this, the scratch could only appear on the back, not here.”
William quickly called for someone to bring over a magnifying glass and carefully examined the golden. brooch.
The moment he finished, his face flushed with embarrassment like he’d just been slapped across the face.
Alice looked over at Britney, who was visibly panicking and even looked like she wanted to run away.
Alice smiled and asked, “What’s wrong? You look feverish.”
Immediately, everyone turned their attention to Britney.
That’s when they noticed she was wiping cold sweat from her forehead.
As the saying goes–you’ve got nothing to fear if you’ve done nothing wrong.
The way she was trembling could only mean that she was guilty.
When she saw all those eyes on her, her face turned ashen.
The tough, aggressive attitude she had earlier vanished completely. Now she looked utterly crushed. Everyone could guess what had really happened without asking. She had deliberately tried to frame Alice. William’s expression turned stormy with anger, but he still had to find a way to clean up the mess.
He forced a polite smile and said helplessly, “I’m very sorry, Mrs. Nolan. It seems we’ve misunderstood you.” Alice raised an eyebrow. “And that’s it? A ‘misunderstanding‘ is all this amounts to?”
William smiled awkwardly, clearly still trying to smooth things over. “It truly was just a misunderstanding.” Alice could see right through them.
They wanted to downplay everything to avoid the consequences.
She scoffed and said, “This is my first visit to Serafine Atelier. I’ve never had any conflict with your store before.
“But what did you do? You accused me of breaking a brooch.
“Your sales associate didn’t ask a single question before blocking my way and even tried to stop me from leaving.
“And you, Mr. William—you didn’t even investigate the situation. You just asked me to pay for it, all because you were afraid I might affect your business!
“Hab!”
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Chapter 15 He’s Here to Back Her Up
She laughed again.
The air around her turned cold as if her entire presence had shifted into something commanding and sharp.
“You slandered me, tried to humiliate me–and now you think a simple ‘misunderstanding‘ will make it all go away?”
The onlookers had originally just come to watch the drama, but Alice’s words stirred something in them now.
Righteous indignation rose in the crowd.
If they could have it their way, Serafine Atelier would be shut down that very day.
William realized the situation was getting out of hand and he glanced at Britney.
Britney clenched her fists, swallowing her rage, and apologized to Alice.
“I’m
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Nolan. I misunderstood you earlier. It was all my fault. Please forgive me.”
William gritted his teeth, trying to keep his tone as pleasant as possible.
“Mrs. Nolan, how about this? Please accept this brooch as a gift, free of charge. Consider it our way of apologizing and calming things down. Would that be acceptable?”
Alice scoffed. “You’re giving me the brooch that she damaged? What, are you suggesting the Nolans can’t afford to pay for a brooch?”
Sandy, who had been standing off to the side, suddenly snapped.
“My brother’s money doesn’t grow on trees, you know. Besides, they already apologized. Do you really have to take it this far? Aren’t you just using your power to bully others now?”
Alice’s voice was icy.
“Is that so?”
She suddenly gave a soft, mocking laugh.
“I’m your sister–in–law–one of the Nolans now. Now I’ve been framed and humiliated in public. And I’m just supposed to forgive it all the moment someone apologizes? Tell me–am I a pushover or do the Nolans mean so little in everyone’s eyes?”
Sandy was stunned momentarily before she retorted, “So what do you want to do? Call the police and have the sales associate thrown in prison for life?”
Alice glanced at Britney, whose face was now ghostly pale.
Then she calmly replied, “This happened in Serafine Atelier. It depends on Mr. William whether to call the police or not…”
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward the entrance.
A crowd had gathered and was still watching, waiting to see how it would all end.
“Mr. William, as you can see, a lot of people are waiting to see Serafine Atelier’s response. If this isn’t handled properly, who would ever feel safe shopping here again?”
William understood the weight of the situation.
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Chapter 15 He’s Here to Back Her Up
People outside were already taking photos and recording videos.
If this blew up any further, Serafine Atelier could be facing a full–blown PR disaster.
At that moment, William wanted nothing more than to strangle Britney.
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With so many eyes on them, he couldn’t ask her who had set her up. For now, he had no choice but to swallow the humiliation.
After thinking it over, he looked toward Sandy.
“Ms. Sandy, since you and Mrs. Nolan are family. Perhaps you could help us come up with a solution?”
In other words, they would agree with anything the Nolans want.
If money can solve the problem, then so be it.
Bri
Britney was trembling harder than ever.
If Alice demanded some outrageous compensation, the store might pin all the losses on her and that would be the end of her career.
Then Sandy spoke up, her tone measured and slow.
“From what I see, this really was a misunderstanding. But you did damage Alice’s reputation. If you just offer money, she probably won’t care. She seems to like some of the things in your store–why not give her a VIP card with better discounts?”
William’s eyes lit up with relief.
Whyhadn’t I thoughtofthat? Itwas a perfectsolution.
I candefusethecrisisandturn Alice into a loyal customer.
He didn’t care about what people said about her elsewhere–anyone willing to spend money in his store was a god to him.
“Our top–tier Diamond Card offers a 20% discount,” he explained apologetically.
“But today, we clearly made a mistake. So I’ll make the call myself—Mrs. Nolan, you’ll get to enjoy a 50% discount on everything you buy today!”
He had overheard earlier that Alice didn’t have enough money on her and couldn’t even afford the brooch. Sure, the store would lose a little in the short term, but they’d make it back later.
More importantly, the shop’s reputation would be preserved.
Sandy chuckled softly.
“Fifty percent? I must be dreaming! Alice, if you’re not sure what to do, I can call Eric and have him decide for you–how about that?”
“You don’t have to call me!”
The crowd at the door suddenly parted.
Eric appeared in his wheelchair, slowly making his way inside.
Chapter 15 He’s Here to Back Her Up
He stopped at Alice’s side and he held out his hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Alice was taken aback.
When she didn’t react, Eric simply raised his hand a little higher and grabbed hers.
She was utterly shocked now.
“Come on. Let’s go take a look inside.”
As he spoke, the wheelchair began to move forward, forcing Alice to walk along with him.
William watched as the last trace of color drained from his face.
If theyonlywenttothemid–tiersection, thelossesmightbemanageable. If not…
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He was still praying Eric would show some mercy when he saw the couple head straight into the innermost section of the store.
That area was reserved for collector–grade items. Most of them weren’t even for sale, and many had no fixed price at all.
William’s heart sank and he rushed in after them without hesitation.
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