Leo picked up his bag and returned to Charles.
He tugged on Charles’s sleeve and secretly handed him something.
“Leo, what’s this?”
“This is a Purple Dragon Jade Bracelet. Wearing it brings peace and wards off evil. It’s a gift for you.”
“How can I accept this… Leo, how much did it cost?”
Leo waved his hand dismissively. “Talking about money is tacky. Just take it. I’ll need your help with something later.”
Charles accepted the bracelet and saw Leo wink at him, not understanding what kind of help he would need.
Just as he was about to ask, Ethan suddenly shouted, “Security, I suggest we check Spirit Moon Antiques first!”
His shout immediately drew everyone’s attention, especially Ollie James, who couldn’t understand what he meant.
Spirit Moon Antiques belonged to the Dan family. From Ethan’s tone, it sounded like he was accusing them of theft.
“Ethan, what do you mean by this!?” Christine couldn’t hold back and angrily rebuked him.
“I mean that I suspect you stole the antiques!”
Leo had always been an unstable factor, and Ethan thought it best to act quickly.
Now, almost everyone focused their attention on Ethan and Christine’s group.
It seemed like there was going to be a good show, but unfortunately, there were no seats or snacks.
Ethan pointed at Leo and said, “I suspect the stolen antiques are in his black briefcase!”
As soon as he said this, the security guards who were checking in order immediately walked over to Leo.
Christine and Arlene were furious but couldn’t act out. Opposing the search would make them look guilty.
Leo remained calm, placing his briefcase on the ground and raising his hands.
One security guard started checking Leo’s body with a device, while another opened the briefcase and took out its contents one by one.
Ethan’s heart raced with anticipation, and everyone else stared intently at the black briefcase.
The security guard took out several scrolls and some promotional materials from the briefcase but found no stolen antiques.
After Leo was cleared, a female security guard began checking Christine and Arlene.
Seeing the briefcase emptied, Ethan’s heart sank.
How could this be? The items weren’t on Leo, in the briefcase, or on Christine and Arlene. Did they grow wings and fly away?
Soon, the search was complete, and the stolen antiques were not found in the briefcase or on Leo’s group.
Everyone’s attention shifted back to Ethan, waiting to see what he would say next.
Ethan grew nervous. Remembering that Leo had whispered to Charles earlier, he turned his gaze to Charles. “Security, search Charles as well.”
At this point, someone spoke up with dissatisfaction. “Who does this guy think he is? Demanding searches left and right. Now he’s suspecting Charles? What a joke!”
“Since someone doubts me, I’ll clear my name. Go ahead and search me,” Charles said graciously, stepping forward with open arms.
The security guard apologized before starting the search, knowing Charles’s special status.
Ethan’s bad feeling intensified. By pointing fingers at Spirit Moon Antiques and now suspecting Charles, he had put himself in a precarious position.
If the stolen antiques weren’t on Charles either…
The special device used for the search beeped.
Ethan exhaled in relief, wiping sweat from his forehead as a sinister smile appeared on his face.
Charles was still wearing his red robe. When the device scanned an inner pocket, it beeped again.
Everyone’s hearts tightened. Could it be that Charles really stole the antiques?
How was that possible?
Charles smiled nonchalantly as the security guard reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a bracelet.
“A bracelet?” Mr. Cole from Everlasting Spring Trading Company stepped forward since one of their stolen items was also a bracelet.
“The bracelet was given to Charles by that guy named Leo just now. I saw it with my own eyes!” Ethan shouted again.
He wanted to make it clear that the bracelet wasn’t stolen by Charles but implied that Spirit Moon Antiques was behind the theft.
Charles looked at Leo with questioning eyes. The bracelet was indeed given by Leo earlier. Was he trying to frame him?
Seeing Leo’s calm smile, Charles didn’t believe Leo would do such a thing.
“Let me take a look,” Mr. Cole said, taking the bracelet from the security guard and examining it closely.
Soon, Mr. Cole shook his head. “This is a Purple Dragon Jade Bracelet. Our store lost a Purple Dragon Wood Bracelet, not this one.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and their dislike for Ethan grew exponentially.
Ethan was stunned, unable to believe it. He ran to Mr. Cole and asked incredulously, “Mr. Cole, are you sure this isn’t your store’s stolen bracelet?”
“It’s not!” Mr. Cole confirmed firmly, now having no good feelings towards Ethan.
Ethan stood there speechless.
“Ethan, do you even know what you’re talking about? Now I have reason to believe someone is crying thief to cover their own guilt,” Christine mocked.
Ethan’s face twitched as he decided to go all out since things had already escalated.
“Don’t think I don’t know. You must have stolen the antiques and hidden them!” Ethan accused Christine.
Even someone as composed as Charles couldn’t tolerate Ethan’s nonsense anymore. “Ethan, without evidence, your words are slander!”
With Charles leading the charge, others who disliked Ethan joined in, attacking him verbally.
Leo walked over to Charles, patted him on the shoulder, and whispered, “Thanks.”
Charles just smiled and nodded at him.
Although Ethan had thick skin, he couldn’t stay any longer after angering everyone. He glared at Leo before packing up to leave.
“Ethan, are you leaving?” Leo called out.
“So what if I am?”
“I suspect you stole the antiques. You need to cooperate with a search,” Leo said, using Ethan’s own tactic against him.
“I’ve already been searched! Are you blind?” Ethan retorted.