Chapter 612 Kenneth Bailey Made Me Do It
Elise tossed the woman’s red jade necklace onto the glass display counter with a clank. She questioned with a frosty expression, “Who sent you here?!”
“Who sent me here? What do you mean by that? I don’t know what you’re talking about!” The woman lowered her head guiltily. She muttered to herself, “I bought the necklace here. How would I know that it didn’t have any UV anti-counterfeit—”
“Is that so? This jade necklace of yours can’t be equated with our store’s red jade necklace, but it’s good stuff, and it’s made to look indistinguishable from Alexis’ ones inside out. You say you know nothing and that it’s just a coincidence, but how’s that possible?” Elise began to guide the crowd in a tone similar to the woman’s tone of voice just now. “If you insist that this necklace is yours, well, it’s fine. By extorting such a huge amount of money, you’ve at least guaranteed yourself a jail sentence of eight to ten years. Uncle, this woman here wants to go to jail, so why not do her the favor?”
“Huh? Oh, right! I just had dinner with the chief of detectives yesterday! I’ll call him over now!” Tom took out his phone and pretended to call Jackson, though he was actually calling his aged mother. She was hard of hearing, so she could hardly hear her phone ring nine times out of ten. Even if she did hear her phone ring and answer it, she would only keep repeating, “Huh? What’d you say?” so he wasn’t worried about causing any misunderstanding at all. He pretended to say, “Hello, is Captain Gleeman speaking? It’s me, Tom. I have a—”
“Wait a minute!” Frightened at last, the woman lunged at Tom in an attempt to snatch his phone.
However, Tom stepped back and dodged her.
“Fessing up at last, huh?” Elise taunted.
The woman fidgeted with her fingers, looking as though she was caught on the horns of a dilemma. After turning to look at the reporters and the video cameras at the entrance, she tried to negotiate with Elise, saying ingratiatingly, “This isn’t a good place to talk. Can we talk it over in the break room?”
“Huh? But I remember that you just turned down our staff’s invitation, and now… Your behavior keeps changing from one moment to the next. Don’t tell me you’re trying to stall for time.” Elise purposely wore an innocent look on her face. “I think we’d better call the police.”
“No, no, no! Please, don’t do that… I’ll confess! I’ll confess to everything, okay?” The woman heaved a long sigh. “Will you not call the police if I tell you everything?”
“No, we won’t!” Elise forced a bright smile on her face. Well, whether the others will call the police or not is none of our business.
“Okay, I’ll fess up.” The woman hemmed and hawed. “It’s true that the red jade isn’t mine. I-It’s…”
Just when she was about to tell the truth, another commotion broke out at the door.
“Here comes somebody from Smith Co.!”
“It’s Kenneth Bailey! To think that he would actually come in person! Alexis and Smith Co. belong to the same owner indeed.”
Amid the crowd’s discussion, the dark-suited bodyguards cleared a path for Kenneth, who then strode in with vigorous strides while wearing a pair of sunglasses. He was dressed in a black leather jacket and black leather pants, but only his gloves were spotless white. “I heard somebody’s doubting Smith Co.’s credibility, so I came here especially to see what the big deal is about,” he said while walking all the way up to Elise and the others. Then, he took off his sunglasses and darted his eyes around the whole store with a poker face.
Smith Co. was a mysterious organization in the first place, and its huge industrial chain lent Kenneth an aura that allowed no one to challenge him. Therefore, the instant he finished his sentence, the store turned as silent as a grave.
A moment later, the woman who had been on the verge of a breakdown just now suddenly pointed at him, shouting, “It was him! It was Kenneth Bailey who ordered me to come and make trouble!”
The instant she said that, everyone at the scene immediately held their breaths. They couldn’t help worrying for the woman, not because it surprised them that the incident was Kenneth’s doing, but because they were impressed by the woman’s courage. Even if Kenneth really were the culprit behind this, was she totally unafraid of what Smith Co. was capable of, exposing him in public like this? This woman probably has a death wish.
Shocked, Tom and Tina involuntarily shifted their gazes to Kenneth.
Despite the rumors about Alexis and Smith Co. belonging to the same owner, they knew that the two companies never had any business dealings with each other; it was Kenneth who had been helping them for no reason from the very start.
However, no friendships would last forever in the field of business, so who would know if Kenneth had shown goodwill toward them at the jewelry design competition for the purpose of stabbing them in the back today?
Even though Kenneth appeared to be vying for Elise’s affections, Tom knew as a man that in reality, a top dog who had achieved quick success in a short time like Kenneth didn’t really regard women or love as important. Perhaps he had noticed the link between Elise and Alexis, so who knew if he had approached them in the beginning to win their trust? Gods were unattainable, unfathomable, and so were men who were as mysterious as devils.
Kenneth’s impassive gaze swept across everyone at the scene before eventually resting quietly on Elise. “Seems like everyone believes her story, huh?” He didn’t care a damn about what everybody else might think; he only cared about what Elise would think of it.
Almost instantly, Elise understood tacitly that Kenneth’s question was directed at her. In reality, she didn’t believe Kenneth would use such despicable means against anyone. If someone whose mind even she couldn’t read really wanted to set anyone up, they’d never give that person the opportunity to bite back at them.
However, the middle-aged woman wouldn’t let Kenneth off. She complained tearfully, “Mr. Bailey, it was for your sake that I risked getting into such a predicament. You can’t leave me in the lurch!”
Kenneth’s chilly eyes gleamed as he slowly turned to look at the woman.
Seeing the man’s dark eyes, the woman suddenly felt a chill run up her spine. Feeling guilty, she hurriedly lowered her head.
Just then, an informed customer muttered in a low voice, “What bad luck it is for Alexis. They were plagiarized during the jewelry design competition, and now they’re being set up and framed for selling fake jewelry. Isn’t it too much of a coincidence that Kenneth was present on both occasions?”
“Doing business is like fighting a war. Who knows if Kenneth has turned against Alexis because Alexis and Smith Co. had a falling-out or something?”
“Alexis is so tactless. Being able to collaborate with Smith Co. is equal to having a protector, so what makes them so dumb as to set themselves up against the company? Now look at the trouble they’ve gotten themselves into. I guess such incidents will only be a dime a dozen in the future!”
Everyone had witnessed how that woman had fought back just now, so now that she had spoken against Kenneth, the onlookers naturally wouldn’t doubt the veracity of her story. Although she didn’t manage to bring Alexis down, she had pulled the rug out from under his feet by successfully dragging Kenneth through the mire. At this point, it’d be meaningless no matter whether Kenneth defended himself or not. Unless he could produce evidence on the spot to prove that the woman had been hired by somebody else, there was no better way to clear this Prince Charming’s name.
Kenneth’s eyes lowered slightly. Lost in his own thoughts, he was silently wondering if he should acknowledge the woman’s false accusations directly and then find out the truth later.
Just then, however, Elise made a bold decision. She said loudly, “We’ve given you a chance, but you don’t cherish it, don’t you?!”
Her words instantly drew everyone’s attention. Then, they heard Elise continue, “Smith Co. has been in talks with my uncle to acquire Alexis for a long time. What reason has he to harm his own property?!”
