Chapter 39
“Of course. Men are nothing to fuss over.”
The two burst into laughter before eagerly tidying up the penthouse, already looking forward to picking the perfect day to move
- in.
Adora returned home in high spirits, humming a tune as she stepped inside.
In the living room, Lilian and Ruby were both there.
The moment she walked in, Lilian put on the air of a concerned mother. “Adora, if you’re not feeling well, why are you always
running around? Can’t you just stay home and rest?”
Without even looking back, Adora tossed out a casual response. “I’d hate to be in the way.”
Lilian’s expression stiffened.
Adora walked into the small, cramped maid’s room that she reluctantly called a bedroom, dropped her backpack onto the desk,
and sat on the edge of the bed to kick off her shoes.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed something.
A book on her pillow was slightly out of place, as if someone had touched it.
She distinctly remembered straightening the bookmark’s tassel when she made the bed that morning, leaving it perfectly neat.
Now, the tassel was tangled, and the bookmark was slightly askew.
Someone had been in here.
And they’d gone through her things.
Adora immediately stood up and yanked back the covers, half–expecting to find something disgusting hidden there.
After all, it wouldn’t have been the first time.
Fortunately, the bed was clean.
Still, her instincts were sharp, and she wasn’t about to let her guard down.
She searched the entire bed, flipping through every layer, even checking under the pillows.
And that was when she saw it.
Her eyes froze.
1/3
Oh?
Just this morning, she thought to herself that Ruby would stop at nothing to get rid of her.
And sure enough, here she was, up to her usual tricks.
But this?
This was just plain childish.
A cold smirk tugged at Adora’s lips.
She casually reached down, picked up the two objects hidden beneath her pillow, and sat back down as if nothing had happened.
Now, all she had to do was wait for Ruby to put on her little show.
Adora had expected Ruby to make her move the moment she got home.
But surprisingly, Ruby had patience.
She waited until dinner was over, when the entire Matthews family was home.
After heading upstairs, she suddenly called out from the second–floor hallway.
“Mom, have you seen my necklace?”
From downstairs, Lilian asked, “What necklace?”
“The one Eugene gave me–the ruby pendant.”
“Didn’t you keep it in your jewelry box?”
“I did, but it’s gone.”
Lying in her tiny maid’s room, Adora heard everything loud and clear.
She simply smirked and continued flipping through her finance textbook, completely unbothered.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Lilian quickly headed upstairs to help her younger daughter search.
They combed through every inch of the room, but the necklace was nowhere to be found.
“That necklace was a gift from Eugene–his promise to me! I was supposed to wear it to the gala tomorrow night…”
Ruby furrowed her brows, pacing anxiously in circles.
Lilian frowned. “Strange. It was in the house. How could it just disappear?”
Then, all of a sudden, Ruby stopped and turned around, her expression shifting.
“Mom… could it be Adora? She mentioned before that she liked this necklace and even asked me to give it to her.”
2/3
+15 Bonus
Lilian glanced at her daughter, realization dawning on her face.
After a brief pause, she spun around and marched toward the door. “Yes. It has to be her.”
A sly smile flickered across Ruby’s lips before she quickly schooled her expression and hurried after her mother, pretending to be concerned.
“Mom, don’t be mad. Let’s just ask her first… What if it’s a misunderstanding? We wouldn’t want to accuse her unfairly.”
“There’s no way we’re wrong,” Lilian said sharply.
“She was home all day yesterday.”
Unlike the rest of the family, who went out for dinner with Eugene’s family and only returned after nine, Adora had stayed home the entire evening.
There was plenty of time for her to “steal” the necklace.
Ruby suppressed a triumphant grin, but her tone remained worried. “Even if we prove she took it, what can we really do? It’ll just create more tension in the family.”
“That’s exactly why we have to find out!” Lilian snapped.
“If she really stole it, she’s moving out–end of discussion!”
Determined and furious, she stormed down the stairs, heading straight for the maid’s quarters.
