Chapter 140: The Price of a Jadeite Bracelet
Elsie’s eyes reddened as she adopted a pitiful expression. “Yunice, you met Paul first. It’s understandable that you still have feelings for him. I can give him back to you.”
Gill’s temper flared at this pretense. “Oh, shut up! That filthy cucumber you used and threw away—our dog wouldn’t want it! If you don’t want it, just chop it up and throw it in the garbage. Don’t use it to disgust our lady! You don’t have any proof, just a dirty mouth. If you can’t prove that Ms. Saunders has seduced anyone, I’ll tear that lying mouth right off your face!”
Yunice sneered. “Enough talk. Let’s get the presents.”
Lily had clearly brought this up to buy time and distract from the real issue, preventing us from taking the gifts. Gill thought the same. No use wasting breath on them! She squared her shoulders, pushed Owen aside with one strong move, and pulled the safe box open. Yunice quickly returned the remaining nine items to their original gift boxes.
As he watched Yunice coolly repack the boxes, Owen’s face darkened with anger. He stepped forward, pressed his hand down on the boxes, and gritted his teeth. “Yunice, I’ll say it again! No one here wants these gifts! If you don’t explain your relationship to Quinton right now, I won’t let you take them!”
I was worried that Yunice had done something shady with Quinton and needed answers. “No one here wants these gifts!” Yunice’s gaze landed mockingly on the jadeite bracelet on Elsie’s wrist.
Owen’s face tightened. “Elsie, give her the bracelet. I’ll buy you something better later.”
Elsie nodded proudly, tears in her eyes. “I don’t care about that vulgar thing!” She tugged hard at the jadeite bracelet, her wrist turning red, but it wouldn’t come off.
Gill rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward. “Here, let me help!” The moment she moved, Elsie jumped in fear and ducked behind Owen. He instinctively shielded her and scolded Yunice. “Don’t push it! I already said we’d bring her back. It’s not her fault if it doesn’t come off!”
Yunice laughed coldly. “It’s on her wrist; that makes it her problem. What, if you can’t take it off in a store, you just get to keep it for free?”
Owen snapped, “So what do you suggest?”
Yunice replied calmly, “This bracelet is worth four million dollars. Either you pay me the full value, or you sacrifice the wrist and keep the bracelet.”
Sacrifice the wrist? Lily looked confused. Gill smiled. “You really don’t get it? It means if the bracelet won’t come off, then cut off the hand; it’ll come off just fine.”
Shock flashed through Owen’s eyes. He yelled, “Yunice, are you even human?!” And he was the one who agreed to suppress his own father’s spirit for eternity, and I wasn’t human?
Yunice, long accustomed to Owen’s hypocrisy, smiled. “I thought you’d never agree to pay. In that case, I have another solution.”
Elsie lowered her eyes, perfectly composed. Whatever Yunice came up with didn’t matter. As long as the jadeite bracelet stayed on…
Yunice didn’t bother to answer. She just pulled out her phone and dialed. “Hello, is this the police! I want to report a theft!”
Lily screamed and grabbed the phone from her. Her voice quavered as she said into the speaker, “Sorry, my daughter isn’t mentally well. She’s just talking nonsense. No need for the police.” She ended the call with a loud snap.
Elsie’s face had already gone white. Owen was just coming to terms with what had happened. Yenice really called the cops over a bracelet? But Yunice wasn’t angry about the call being cut off. That had never been my goal. I didn’t want to put Elsie behind bars; I just wanted the jadeite bracelet back.
Lily’s voice shook. “Your sister wasn’t going to take it. How can you call it stealing? And now you’re accusing her in front of all…”
“When you take something without asking, it’s stealing. Isn’t that what you all told me when my bracelet with the Confucian classics went missing?” Back then, the bracelet belonged to me, and they still called me a thief without blinking an eye. So why couldn’t I file a report now?
Lily was at a loss. Finally, she said weakly, “We can talk this out. We’re family, after all.”
Yunice turned to Owen. “I have no relationship with Quinton. That’s exactly why I can’t accept such an expensive gift. It has to be returned. So what do you suggest we do with the bracelet?”
Owen’s expression became conflicted. Saunders Hospital isn’t doing well, and the family are financially trapped. Spending four million dollars on a jadeite bracelet is a massive… But making Elsie take the fall for theft? Or cut off her hand? Neither is an option.