Ex Cried as I Wed a Tycoon

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?

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

asked, taking

Isabel said, her voice sharp with accusation. "Did you know the

earring in question. She didn't answer Isabel directly, but

Lyman instructed, not hesitating for a second. He trusted Effie implicitly-if she had wanted that earring, he would've

earring and inspected

the side, "You can stare at it all you want, but the diamond's not

acknowledging her, keeping her eyes on the earring

earring was designed for beauty, using a special setting that makes the stones look like they're balanced delicately on top. But n reality, the prongs are strong enough to hold the diamond securely. Unless someone used force,

privately that Effie really did know her stuff-she'd spotted the

a little too much. How do you know someone used force to pry the diamond out?

shot Isabel a withering look. "Isabel, that's enough.

hurt. "Annabel, I'm just telling the truth. Is that a

telling the truth, but you can't go around making accusations without a shred of