The Forgotten Heir's Payback

Chapter 7: Unmasked Theft

The quiet room suddenly became loud as people started talking all at once. The camera lights flashed fast, hitting the stage like bright lightning.

Beatrice stood frozen on the platform, her face turning as white as a piece of paper. Her hands were shaking so hard that she almost dropped her microphone.

The expert appraiser walked up onto the stage with a big magnifying glass. He picked up the smooth green stone carefully and examined the tiny mark carved near the gold ring at the top. He adjusted his glass and looked very closely. Then his eyes went wide with shock.

"This jade necklace was registered twenty years ago!" the appraiser yelled into his microphone so everyone could hear. "The true owner name carved inside the official ledger is Lady Vance, the late mother of Lucas Vance! Beatrice Vance is not written on this paper at all!"

Gasps of horror filled the huge room. The rich guests in the front row turned around to look at Beatrice with disgust. People began pointing their fingers and shouting insults at her.

"She stole it!" a rich woman in the second row yelled. "She hosted a fake charity event just to sell a stolen family treasure!"

Beatrice grabbed her head with both hands, screaming like a crazy person. "No! That is a lie! He is lying to all of you! That necklace belongs to me! I found it in my house!"

Chloe ran up onto the stage, her high heels making loud clicking sounds against the wood. Her heart was beating fast in her chest, burning with deep fear and shame. She turned to face the crowd, pointing her long red fingernail straight at Lucas.

"Do not listen to him!" Chloe screamed, her voice shaking with rage. "Lucas is a thief and a fraud! He worked as my house husband for three years! He did not have a single dollar in his bank account! He must have forged those paper documents! He is stealing money from his new rich employer to trick everyone tonight!"

Julian stepped up onto the stage right beside Chloe. He looked down at Lucas with bloodshot eyes, his chest rising and falling fast. He lost his shoes yesterday, and now his family name was being dragged through the dirt in front of the entire city. He could not take the embarrassment anymore.

"You went too far this time, Lucas!" Julian roared, reaching into his coat pocket. "You come into my event, you buy things with stolen checks, and you call my mother-in-law a thief? I will teach you a lesson you will never forget!"

Julian waved his hand wildly toward the back doors. "Security! Get in here right now! Take that necklace back from him by force! Break his hands if he tries to fight back!"

The heavy double doors of the hall slammed open. Eight tall, muscular security guards dressed in dark uniform shirts rushed into the room. They pulled out long metal batons from their belts, their faces mean and angry. They surrounded Lucas in a tight circle, blocking every way out.

The guests in the audience cried out in fear, pushing their chairs back to get away from the fight.

Chloe smiled with deep satisfaction, crossing her arms over her chest. "Look at you now, Lucas! You thought you were so clever coming here with fake checks! Let us see if your big words can save you from getting beaten up!"

Lucas stood in the middle of the dark circle. He did not look scared at all. He did not even blink. He held the black velvet box safely in his left hand and looked at Julian with a cold, mocking smile.

"Julian," Lucas said quietly, his voice calm and steady. "You never learn, do you? You always think your cheap muscle can protect you from the truth."

Lucas raised his right hand and snapped his fingers once. The sound was short and sharp, ringing out clearly across the silent hall.

Before Julian’s guards could take a single step forward, six men in sharp black suits stepped out from behind the velvet curtains on the side of the stage. They moved fast like panthers, without making any loud noise. These were Lucas's private elite bodyguards.

The first elite guard stepped up behind Julian’s lead security man. With one swift movement, he grabbed the man’s arm, twisted it behind his back, and kicked him hard behind the knee. The large guard fell to the floor with a loud thump, dropping his metal baton onto the clean carpet.

The other elite guards moved just as fast. They dodged the swinging batons easily, striking Julian’s men in their stomachs and shoulders with quick, hard blows.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The metal batons hit the floor one by one. In less than ten seconds, all eight of Julian’s security guards were lying on the ground, groaning in pain and holding their arms. Not a single one of Lucas’s bodyguards had a scratch on them. They did not even break a sweat. They stood in a neat line around Lucas, bowing their heads with deep respect.

The entire ballroom went completely quiet. Julian’s jaw dropped open so wide it almost touched his chest. His knees started shaking violently. Chloe stumbled back three steps, her hands covering her mouth in total horror.

Lucas stepped over one of the fallen guards on the floor. He walked slowly toward the stage, stopping right in front of Julian and Chloe.

"Is this the best you can do, Julian?" Lucas asked, his eyes sharp like ice needles. "You bring weak men to do a real man's job."

Julian could not say a single word. His mouth moved, but no sound came out.

Suddenly, loud red and blue lights flashed through the large glass windows of the ballroom. The sound of loud police sirens echoed from the street outside, getting closer and closer until they stopped right at the front entrance of the hotel.

Beatrice wiped the sweat from her forehead, her eyes lighting up with fresh hope. She pointed at Lucas again, laughing like a mad woman. "Ha! The police are here! You heard the sirens, right? Someone called the cops on you, Lucas! You are going to jail for assault and fake checks!"

Chloe let out a long breath, clutching her chest. "Thank goodness! The police will lock you up, Lucas! You will pay for ruining my engagement party!"

The heavy front doors opened wide again. Four uniformed police officers walked quickly down the center aisle. The lead officer was a tall man with a stern face and a silver badge pinned to his chest.

Beatrice ran off the stage toward the lead officer, reaching her hands out to grab his arm. "Officer! Officer, thank goodness you arrived in time! Arrest this man right here! He broke into my private event, he brought fake money, and his thugs beat up my security team!"

The lead police officer stopped in his tracks. He pulled his arm away from Beatrice's dirty hands, looking down at her with a cold, disgusted glare.

"Are you Beatrice Vance?" the lead officer asked in a loud, stern voice.

"Yes! Yes, that is me!" Beatrice said quickly, nodding her head up and down like a chicken. "Arrest him now!"

The lead officer did not even look at Lucas. Instead, he reached into his black leather belt pouch and pulled out a thick white paper document stamped with an official red seal from the city court.

He held the paper right in front of Beatrice's face for everyone to see.

"Beatrice Vance," the officer declared loudly, his voice echoing across the entire hall. "You are hereby served a formal summons for grand larceny and the illegal pawn of stolen property.

You have thirty minutes to report to the central police station, or we will put you in handcuffs right now."