Every single heavy door in the grand estate slammed shut and locked tight.
The atmosphere in the room instantly turned to solid ice.
Guests stared at one another, eyes sharp with suspicion as they sized each other up.
Isabella pressed a hand to her racing heart. Plastering on a flawless mask of worry and shock, she stepped forward and spoke in a soft, concerned voice. "How could this happen? When I went up to the dressing room to change earlier, The Heart of the Sea was still right there."
"The entire Vinton estate is wired with security cameras. Who would be so insanely reckless?"
"Grandpa, please don't panic. You must watch your health."
Isabella hurried to Holden's side, playing the perfect, devoted granddaughter. "The guests here tonight are the absolute elite. Everyone is incredibly wealthy and influential. Why would anyone risk such a... shameless act?"
She then turned her gaze to Princess Isadora's attendant. "Are you absolutely sure you checked everywhere? Could someone have accidentally misplaced it?"
The attendant was deathly pale. "We scoured the gift display area multiple times. We are certain The Heart of the Sea is gone. And... and the security cameras covering that specific area suffered a targeted power outage! We suspect this was a highly premeditated act!"
Those words sent another violent wave of gasps through the crowd.
How could it possibly be a coincidence?
The cameras just happened to black out?
Someone had absolutely orchestrated this!
But just as the Vinton family's relative pointed out, everyone in the room was a billionaire, CEO, or aristocrat.
Anyone below that tier wouldn't have even made it past the front gates.
Who would risk utterly destroying their family's legacy just to steal a royal jewel?
If they were caught...
They would be marking themselves as enemies of The Royal House of Vaelion!
Who would be that stupid?
The crowd exchanged baffled, uneasy looks.
Suddenly, as if a brilliant realization had just struck her, Isabella covered her mouth. Her gaze drifted slowly, deliberately, toward Black Jack and her crew standing a short distance away.
"I heard they're from some tiny, dirt-poor mountain village in Elyndor... the kind of place where everyone is broke..."
"A place full of poor people... It's inevitable they'd have sticky fingers."
"Now that you mention it, I saw them loitering around the gift display earlier. It wouldn't surprise me if it really was them..."
"To invite that kind of trash to such a prestigious gala... Tsk, the Vinton heiress really let the wolves into the house."
The whispers mutated into vicious accusations.
One by one, they piled on, practically convicting Black Jack and her crew as the undeniable thieves.
"Shut your mouths!"
Douglas Vinton's handsome face turned thunderous. His lethal gaze sliced across the hall. "Unless you have hard proof, I highly suggest you all keep your baseless accusations to yourselves."
"They are my niece's friends, which makes them honored guests of the Vinton family. If anyone else wants to run their mouth, don't blame me when I bite back!"
Silas Vinton, his face equally freezing, declared, "I trust Serena's friends completely."

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