Chapter 450
Elnora cast Marina a grave look.
Marina took a deep breath. She whispered to Elnora, “Are all the details the same?”
Elnora nodded slightly. “Yes.”
Her voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes locked on the pink diamond ring in the display case.
Marina then looked over at Hayley.
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Hayley was still trailing after Bette. Even though Bette looked totally fed up, Hayley still showed no intention of keeping her distance.
Hayley’s unusual behavior only solidified Marina’s suspicion that something was amiss.
Once Elnora was sure the pink diamond in the display case matched the one Reese had given her, she leaned closer and whispered to Marina, “Be careful.”
The Zamora family has never been a simple story, Elnora sighed inwardly.
Marina nodded. “I know.”
Hayley was chatting with Bette when she turned and saw Marina and Elnora standing in front of the display case, totally focused on checking out the pink diamond.
Her heart shot straight into her throat.
She’d already checked. Though this pink diamond didn’t sparkle nearly as much as the original one, it was still worth almost 30,000 dollars.
She was sure there was no way one could tell them apart just by eyeballing them.
But with Marina and Elnora both staring at it like that, it was making her seriously nervous for some reason.
Hayley walked over with a friendly smile and asked softly, “Marina, is something wrong?”
Marina shook her head and didn’t confront Hayley directly.
Bette came over too, right after Hayley.
Bette opened the display case and said to Marina with a smile, “If you like it, go ahead and try it on. This jewelry will all be yours soon enough.”
As she spoke, Bette reached out to pick up the pink diamond.
Marina immediately reached out and grabbed Bette’s hand.
“Bette, no need,” Marina said, gently shaking her head.
Bette could tell Marina was dead serious from her look, and a small smile tugged at her lips. “Alright then,” she said.
Bette pulled her hand out of the display case and closed it.
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Chapter 450
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Hayley breathed a silent sigh of relief.
However, the next second, Bette picked up a blue sapphire next to the pink diamond and said, “Somehow, I feel this blue sapphire doesn’t seem as shiny as it used to be.”
Upon hearing what Bette had said. Hayley’s mood, which had just relaxed, tightened up again.
She replied quickly. “It might be because it hasn’t been maintained for too long. When I have some free time, I’ll arrange for someone to come and maintain it at home.”
Bette just waved it off with a smile, saying, “No need.
“From now on, Daron will make sure someone handles all the maintenance.
“Aunt Hayley, did you forget? The key to this place is with Marina. You don’t have a backup, do you?”
Hayley shook her head, meeting Bette’s gaze with total honesty.
“I don’t have a spare key, Bette. If you don’t believe me, you can check my place yourself, Hayley said.
Bette smiled and said, “Aunt Hayley, I was just saying. I wasn’t actually accusing you. Don’t be nervous, okay?”
Hayley replied to Bette with a blank expression. “I’m not nervous.”
Bette nodded, then glanced at Marina and asked in a low voice, “Marina, do you have any plans for all this jewelry?”
Marina looked up at the security camera overhead, noticing it wasn’t working, so she asked. “Hayley, is the camera in here Ousted too?”
Hayley then raised her head and glanced at the surveillance camera, pausing for a moment before saying, “I rarely come here, so I didn’t even notice that the surveillance camera here was broken.
I’ll have someone come over to fix it another day.”
Marina nodded, then said quietly, “Since Wilhelmina’s precious collections are going to be entrusted to me, and they were previously kept by someone else, I’d like to have someone come over tonight to appraise them, to avoid any potential roubles in the future and confirm the authenticity of all the jewelry.”
Hearing that, Hayley’s expression suddenly changed, her eyes growing cold as she stared at Marina and said, “What’s that upposed to mean, Marina?”
Marina met Hayley’s piercing stare with calm composure, then replied in a cool and even tone, “I’m not trying to accuse You, Hayley.
It’s just to keep myself out of trouble.”
Hayley took a deep breath, clenched her jaw, and replied in a low, tense voice, “So you don’t trust me, Marina?
I’ve been part of the Zamora family for years. I’ve seen all kinds of jewelry. I wouldn’t stoop so low as to touch Wilhelmina’s keepsakes. You’re simply humiliating me!”
Marina looked at Hayley’s agitated expression and said calmly, “Hayley, I’m not trying to humiliate you.”
Hayley gritted her teeth. “Don’t deny it, you are humiliating me!
Call Daron right this second and get him over here.
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Chapter 450
“If you want an appraisal, then let’s do it with Daron and the whole Zamora family watching.
“If the test results show there’s no issue whatsoever, Marina, I won’t let you off the hook.”
Marina frowned.
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Just then, Bette gave a low chuckle and said softly, “Sure, let’s do it. Let’s get the appraisal done. I’d love to see how you’re not going to let Marina off the hook.”
Hayley clenched her jaw, pulled out her phone, and started dialing Daron’s number.
Neither Marina nor Bette tried to stop her.
Hayley’s hand shook as she gripped her phone, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to call Daron. Instead, she squeezed her eyes shut, her face twisted with humiliation.
She said, “You’re going too far.
“I’ve been with the Zamora family for so many years, and no one has ever questioned or doubted my character.”
While Hayley was speaking, she got so emotionally worked up that she actually fainted right in front of them.
Elnora reacted swiftly and quickly supported her.
“Hayley, are you okay?” she asked.
Bette frowned and said with a cold expression, “Seriously, quit pretending. Daron’s not here, so there’s no one to watch your little drama.”
Marina glanced at Hayley’s ghostly pale face and shaking hands, frowned, and said, “She’s not faking it.”
As she spoke, she immediately took out her phone and dialed the emergency number.
In the end, Hayley was sent to the hospital.
The doctor said it was hyperventilation syndrome. Hayley got so agitated that she started breathing too fast, which made her carbon dioxide drop and caused her to feel dizzy, numb, and even pass out.
Daron stood outside Hayley’s hospital room, frowning.
Zara was quietly sobbing off to the side.
She shot Bette a look, her voice thick with accusation as she said, “Bette, what did my mom ever do to you? Why did you have to humiliate her so much that she passed out from anger?
“All these years, my mom has done everything she could for Daron. What unforgivable thing did she ever do to make you target her like this?”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
