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

going on?" she asked, taking in the

with

She didn't answer Isabel directly, but simply reached out. "May

to her," Lyman instructed, not hesitating for a second. He trusted Effie implicitly-if she had wanted that earring, he would've given it to her, the whole

the earring and inspected it

let the matter drop, sniped from the side, "You can stare at it all

acknowledging her, keeping her eyes on the earring

top. But n reality,

did know her stuff-she'd spotted the

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

a withering look. "Isabel, that's

"Annabel, I'm just

coolly, "No one's blaming you for telling the truth, but you can't go around making accusations without a shred