Chapter 70
Elsie frowned. “I didn’t do it on purpose! Besides, your master already sold it to me! Since it’s sold, it’s mine! No one can play tricks!”
Theo’s protégés looked displeased. They thought, She clearly violated the rules first. Why is she accusing us?
Emma, anticipating Elsie’s outburst, turned to a senior protégé. “Tell your master I want ‘Serenity’ today.”
“What a joke,” Elsie scoffed. “I bought it first!” She laughed angrily. “Do you know how much it’s worth? Can you even afford it? It’s laughable!”
The onlookers, noting Emma’s simple black t-shirt and pants, secretly mocked her. “Haha, she’s here to cause trouble!” “Looking down-and-out, yet talking big. Thinks she’s Mr. Rivera?” “Can’t afford a banquet gown, and wants ‘Serenity’?” “Escaped from a mental hospital?”
Even Theo’s protégés frowned. Our master’s artworks are priceless, they thought. How can anyone just buy them?
“Miss, our master’s artworks can’t be sold to those who’ve bought pirated or counterfeit products. However, that doesn’t mean anyone can buy them.”
Emma remained expressionless, her eyes cold. Theo’s artworks have strict purchase requirements, she thought, but not for me.
Calmly, she produced a badge, displaying it to the senior protégé. “Not even me?”
The protégé, muttering about her poor judgment, saw the octagram on the badge and was dumbfounded. The silver badge of Octagram! he thought. Everyone knew the symbol.
“You… you are…” he stammered.
Emma gestured for silence. She didn’t want her identity revealed. Her slender fingers and cold eyes were striking, even masked and hatted, though her eyes were exceptionally beautiful. She had once saved Theo's life in Starham as Stox. Theo had since instituted a rule: any request from Stox must be granted.
Seeing the badge, they were shocked. The protégé, still astonished, heard Emma say, “Now, can this be sold to me?”
“Of course! No… Master Theo said to give it to you directly. No purchase necessary…”
Emma prevented them from revealing her identity, and Theo’s protégés dared not expose the masked woman as the world-famous Stox.
Elsie, bewildered and furious, protested, “What do you mean? You took my money! How can you sell it to someone else?”
Emma replied, “Elsie, you violated the rules first…” She stepped forward, removing her mask. Under the night sky, her smile was captivating. “Your mouth wasn’t injured enough that night. If I’d known, I would have made you unable to speak at all!”
Seeing Emma’s face, Elsie shrieked, dropping her microphone. The audience saw Elsie retreat, but couldn’t hear their conversation.
“You! Are you human or ghost?” Elsie gasped.
Emma’s voice, audible only to Elsie, carried a chilling message: “Surprised I’m not dead, huh? Not only am I alive, but Liam is too! And you… your good days are over…”
Emma had timed it perfectly. Earlier, she'd heard sirens approaching the charity gala. She and Liam had coordinated their actions: Emma to humiliate Elsie, Liam to gather evidence of Elsie’s crimes. He’d laid low for years, even risking his life, for this moment.
Just as Emma finished, police arrived. The opulent banquet fell silent. Police controlled the entrances and exits, officers approaching the stage and presenting their identification to Elsie.
“We suspect you’re involved in a hit-and-run murder and an arson attack,” an officer stated. “Please come with us.”
Elsie’s eyes widened in disbelief. She thought Emma and Liam were dead, unaware of their carefully laid plan. They deliberately lowered my guard! she thought. They waited to arrest me here!
Panic seized Elsie. “Sir, I couldn’t be involved! I’m the mistress of the Hall family! My husband is in Ralbridge, my son is Brad…”
“No need to explain,” the officer interrupted. “Let’s talk at the station!”
The police were impartial, unmoved by her status. Emma and Liam’s meticulously prepared evidence was irrefutable; Liam wouldn’t have risked his life without certainty. Handcuffs snapped onto Elsie’s wrists.
Amidst the guests' shock, she was led away. The atmosphere became intensely tense. No one could believe the respectable Simon’s wife was being arrested.
Everyone thought, She was the center of attention moments ago, now a murderer in handcuffs! The higher you climb…
Commotion erupted. Attention shifted to Emma. Those who’d scorned her now looked on with fear. Only a few in Troln City could bring down Elsie. Who is she?
They saw Emma, back to the podium, replacing her mask and hat. The fewer who know I'm Stox, the better. Theo’s protégés won't reveal it, but I don’t want to show my face tonight, she thought.
Donning her mask, she addressed the microphone. “I will still donate ‘Serenity,’ but in the name of the Hall family’s only legal heir: Liam.”
The announcement was a warning, a declaration of hostility. Tonight was only the beginning. Elsie’s fate served as a warning. Next was Brad.
Those who’d sided with Brad broke into a cold sweat. This woman has a terrifyingly influential background. We can't provoke her!
Brad learned of Elsie’s arrest too late. Seeing Emma's final image, his face darkened. Emma, he thought. Liam has such a woman. I’ll uncover her identity!