Chapter 23
Well take it. Go ahead and check it,” Emily sand while handing the gown to Ophelia. But just as Ophelia reached for it. Emily yanked it back With a loud rip, the paper bag tore. Emily quickly pulled the gown back and blamed, “How can you be so careless? Who’s going to take responsibility if it damaged?”
She hurriedly exammed the gown, and a flash of satisfaction showed in her eyes as she spotted a loose thread at the slit. ‘Oh my. It was perfectly fine before I brought it here. How did it get ruined from just a little tug Emily’s voice was syrupy, but her tone oozed with false concem.
“Get your boss out. Maybe there’s a way to fix it, but don’t you dare pin this on me.” Emily said in a harsh tone.
“Hold on, you re saying I did this?” Ophelia asked.
Emily poured as if she were deeply wronged. Elia do you have any idea how much this gown costs? It was in perfect condition when I brought it here. If you’re going to accuse me, at least don’t ruin such an expensive gown.”
Ophelia thought to herself. Heh what a neat little trick to flip the blame.”
Not wanting to argue with Emily, she said. “Have you ever heard of security cameras
The word “cameras” made Emily’s mind flash back to the footage from Everland Hotel Ophelia claimed she knew nothing about what had happened at her birthday party, but every word seemed like a subtle jab at that humiliating night, and Emily couldn’t do a thing to fight back, which made her infuriating
“Just get your boss out here to handle this.” Emily snapped, thinking there was no point talking to Ophelia anymore.
Ophelia calmly pressed the phone at the front desk and said. “Chloe, can you come down now
It was almost closing, so Chloe came down from the studio with Wyatt in tow. The little boy looked around curiously, holding
lollipop before quietly sitting on the sofa in the lounge.
Ophelia gave Chloe a knowing glance, and Chloe immediately understood “Returning the gown, right?” she said to Emily. “Well. I can’t return it like this, can ” Emily huffed. playing up her frustration and distress.
If Chloe and Ophelia hadn’t already known what had happened, they might have actually believed Emily was the victim.
Chloe took the gown and hung it up on the garment rack. After a brief check, she said, “Nice stitching on the lower slits, but the fringes are crooked and the silk thread runs off the seam line. Full compensation for the damage. Ms. Hastings, this gown is priced at seven million dollars. Will you be paying by transfer or credit card?”
Without missing a beat. Chloe took out her phone and snapped several photos to document the damage.
Emily was completely stunned by the way things unfolded. She hadn’t expected them to be so direct, not even bothering to ask for her side of the story.
Suppressing her growing unease, she tried to stay calm and explained. “It was your employee who damaged the gown while checking it. Are you really going to pin that on me?”
But Chloe wasn’t buying it, not even bothering to make the clerk apologize.
“Ms. Hastings, if you don’t want to pay, you’ll have to receive the lawyer’s letter. Chloe said in a neutral tone.
Already feeling guilty, Emily realized her plan to shift the blame wasn’t working. But seven million dollars? Where was she going to come up with that? Then, it hit her–she still had the recording on her phone. Suddenly, she felt like she had some leverage
“I see now how your store makes money. You set these outrageous prices, claim you only rent, not sell, and then your staff messes with the gowns to blackmail the customers, right?” Her accusations grew wilder, but she was gaining confidence. “Im going to post this online and let the public judge for themselves”
She waved her phone, and the recording was still on. She didn’t believe for a second they’d let her post it, and she was confident that they couldn’t withstand the pressure of online outrage
With that, she turned to leave, taking only a small step each time, convinced someone would call her back to negotiate. But no
Chapter 23
one stopped her, even as she walked out the door..
She thought. Fine, it’s the age of social media. Even if they refuse to negotiate, the online comments will tear them apart. By the time they come begging for my forgiveness. La Reverie will be finished in this country.
Back in the store. Chloe glanced at Ophelia with concern, but Ophelia remained calm, as if everything was under control. Chloe started to wonder if her worry had been unnecessary, and she said, “Hey, Spencer, you’ve really grown up a lot,”
Ophelia smiled as she looked at Chloe. She then pulled a set of keys from her bag and swayed it in front of Chloe. “I rented. you an apartment downtown, close to the hospital and the store. It’ll be easier for you to take care of Wyatt.”
Ophelia handed her the keys and added. Tve only covered the rent for six months. After that, you’re on your own.”
That was Ophelia who always had a way of making people accept her help without feeling burdened. Chloe hesitated at first but then took the keys without further doubt after hearing what Ophelia said. “Well… just deduct the six months‘ rent from my salary,” said Chloe.
“No problem” Ophelia agreed, walked over to Wyatt, and played with him for a while.
Meanwhile, Emily sat in her car for a long time after leaving the store to contemplate her next move. Finally, she decided to
call Hannah
“Hi. Hannah..” As soon as Emily said her name, she couldn’t hold back her tears. “Can you lend me some money?”
Hannah had been stuck at home for over ten days, completely out of touch with the world, so she had no idea what had happened at Emily’s birthday party. “What’s going on. Emily?” asked Hannah.
Emily told her everything that had happened, and on the other end of the line, Hannah screamed with rage, “What? That’s outrageous! This is so unfair! Emily, you’re too kind. Why should you pay for something that wasn’t your fault? That bitch. definitely did it on purpose since you’re an easy target.”
“I recorded everything, but do you think that’ll help? Emily asked, her voice soft and vulnerable.
“Send me the recording. Last time, that bitch posted my video online and made my family lose so much, and now, I’m going to give her a taste of her own medicine. I’ll make sure no one will hire her ever again.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“We’re just doing what’s right. La Reverie is making money using such dirty tactics. They shouldn’t be afraid of exposure if they’re innocent.
After hanging up. Emily sent the edited recording to Hannah. She only kept the part of the conversation between her and Chloe, and even had her voice professionally altered to make it unrecognizable.
Hannah texted back with an OK emoji, and later that night, the story started gaining traction online.
The headline read: [La Reverie’s Money–Making Scam! Get Out of Heloria!]
The entire thing was twisted from beginning to end, and with just a short, less–than–one–minute audio clip, the fabricated story spread like wildfire.
The Internet was never short on mindless trolls, and with Hannah paying for fake accounts and boosting it to the trending list, the story quickly shot to the top of the charts.
