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?

the changing room, dressed in her

on?" she asked, taking

with accusation. "Did

didn't answer Isabel

trusted Effie implicitly-if she had wanted that earring, he would've given it to

the earring and inspected

side, "You can stare at it all you want, but

didn't even bother acknowledging her, keeping her eyes on the

Effie spoke up. "This 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

that Effie really did know her stuff-she'd spotted the issue right away. But

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

withering look. "Isabel, that's enough. Shut

if genuinely hurt. "Annabel, I'm just

blaming you for telling the truth, but you can't go around making