Derek was so jealous he could have devoured Charles.He was supposed to be the star of the party and wouldn’t let anyone steal his moment, not Charles. So, he had to save face at all costs.Derek sneered. “Well, well… who would have thought our man conveniently saved Serena. A real hero, huh? I’m sure a guy like you brought a truly extraordinary birthday gift. What do you say...should we take a look?”Mrs. Hailey chimed in with a mocking smile. “Exactly! Heroes like him are hard to come by these days. His gift must be something really special. Go ahead and open it for us. I’m dying to see. I mean, there’s no way it’s something cheap, right?”Derek knew Charles was broke. With that knowledge, neither he nor Mrs. Hailey believed for a second that Charles could afford anything impressive.Just as Derek reached for the gift, Charles stopped him, he wanted to collect the gift from him.Charles frowned, “This is for Serena. You have no right to open it.”“Oh? Are you scared it’s so valuabl

“What are you waiting for? Mr. Moretti, just send this man out now,” Mr. Vasilios, the investor, barked impatiently.Mr. Moretti sighed, still unsure of what to say. Most of all, he didn’t want to offend Mr. Vasilios. And Vasilios seemed fond of Derek. Probably because Derek mirrored him perfectly: an arrogant man.Just then, Charles spoke up. “There’s a high-tech detector machine that can test if jewelry is fake or not. It’s 100% accurate. Why don’t we use that?”Mr. Moretti saw this as his way out. With the entire party pressing on him, this was the best solution. He wouldn’t have to offend the guests, and he could preserve the family’s reputation.At the same time, he wouldn’t appear ungrateful to Charles. For once, he began to see Charles as useful, even admirable. Charles had just offered a way to calm the storm.“Oh, yes… we will send it to the appraisal center,” Mr. Moretti declared. “Tomorrow, you will all be informed whether it’s fake or not. The authorities will handle it fr

“What the hell are you doing here!” Tracy yelled as soon as she set her eyes on Charles.Charles stared at her, debating whether to tell her what he had just witnessed. He even had the evidence…it wouldn’t be hard to prove it to her. Part of him wanted to let her know; she didn’t deserve this, even despite their broken relationship and her betrayal.“Tracy…” he began.Tracy immediately cut him off. “Just hang it there. So, you are here to apologize, huh? I knew you would come back. I knew you would regret it! Now you have no place to sleep, and here you are.”Charles couldn’t believe Tracy was still stuck in her own delusions, convincing herself that he would come crawling back.“Who told you I’m here to come back?” Charles shot back.“Isn’t that what you are here for? Your little plan yesterday failed! How could you present a fake ring, thinking you could win Serena’s heart and buy your way out of your filthy, poverty-stricken life? Haha! They must have found out it was fake. Your pl

Collins’ face had already turned pale, yet he kept shaking his head stubbornly.“No… no… this isn’t real,” he muttered. “I didn’t do it.”Even with the clear recording echoing through the hall, he continued denying it. His head moved repeatedly from side to side as if refusing to accept the reality in front of him.“I didn’t do it,” Collins insisted louder. “This is fake! Charles fabricated everything!”The police officer’s expression darkened.He had already heard enough.Slowly, the officer turned toward the two girls standing beside him. His face was stern now, and the patience in his eyes had completely disappeared.“Look,” the officer said coldly, his voice sharp and commanding. “You two are minors. The law is already willing to give you some leniency because of that.”The girls froze.“But if you continue lying to the police,” he continued, “you will spend even more time in jail. So think carefully before you speak again.”The two girls gulped nervously.Their earlier confidence

The ladies walked out of the hall with Charles, the cold night air outside feeling much calmer after the chaos inside. None of them spoke at first. The sound of their heels on the pavement echoed softly as they moved toward the parking area.Lixxypie finally let out a long breath and shook her head.“I still can’t believe Collins would go that far,” she said. “Involving minors? That’s beyond disgusting.”Sapphire crossed her arms, her expression still tense.“Good thing you noticed in time,” she said to Charles. “If that went on any longer, this could have landed you in prison with no way out. Those charges were serious.”Serena looked at him quietly for a moment before speaking.“Please… just be more careful next time,” she said softly.Charles smiled faintly and nodded.“Sure,” he said. “I will.”Natasha suddenly clicked her tongue in annoyance.“I’m just angry about one thing,” she said. “Why did you even help her? After everything she did to you? She humiliated you, compared you t