Chapter 260 Things Would Get Interesting
Darlene was ready to throttle Elizabeth. She had to have done it on purpose. Narrowing her eyes, she spat, "I'm in this mess 'cause of you, right?"
Elizabeth shot back, "Your bad luck ain't my problem. You're a pro at dodging blame. During the open bidding, everything went south, and you blamed it on your company's appraiser being trash. Now you screw up the bid sheet and still wanna pin it on me."
She added with a smirk, "Why not just say I snatched your bid sheet, stomped on it, and tossed it in the trash?"
Raymond chuckled from the side, "If there weren't cameras, she might actually try to pin that on you."
Elizabeth took a few steps back, "Guess I better steer clear of Ms. Spellscroll."
Darlene stayed quiet, seething. Elizabeth was too much. She couldn't shake the feeling that Elizabeth had set this up. Matthew had brought Elizabeth in just to mess with her, and it felt way too personal.
Out of nowhere, she asked, "Where's Nicole?"
Elizabeth looked puzzled. "Are you asking me?"
"Yeah, where'd you hide Nicole?" Darlene demanded, testing her.
Nicholas had just called, saying he couldn't find Nicole anywhere. The surveillance footage showed Nicole leaving the auction hall and then nothing, which meant something was up with the cameras.
Nicholas was out there searching, and Darlene's last hope seemed to hinge on finding Nicole. Maybe her bad luck and loss of Generational Blessings were tied to Nicole's disappearance. If she could get her hands on Nicole, she'd make her pay.
Elizabeth looked at Darlene like she was nuts. "I don't even know Nicole. How could I hide her? Ms. Spellscroll, slander and false accusations are crimes too. I could sue you," she snapped.
Hannah sneered, stepping in to back Elizabeth up. "Darlene, if you wanna divert attention, don't be dumb enough to accuse Elizabeth falsely. Since entering the jewelry market, she's been with us the whole time. During the auction, she didn't even talk to Nicole, let alone leave."
Matthew chimed in, "Everyone heard your harsh words earlier. You've used Elizabeth as a scapegoat multiple times; isn't that a bit much?"
He noticed Darlene's anxiety seemed real. His assistant had mentioned Nicholas searching for Nicole, and Darlene didn't seem to have any real affection for Nicole. So why was she so desperate? It hit him. Nicole was always around when Darlene appraised jewelry. Could Darlene's remarkable abilities be tied to Nicole somehow?
If this turned out to be true, things were about to get real interesting. Darlene would crash and burn from her high horse.
Darlene was kicking herself for her earlier bravado. If she had known she'd be eating this much crow, she would've kept her mouth shut around Matthew and Elizabeth.
She was sure Elizabeth had set her up.
Giving Elizabeth a loaded look, she warned, "You know exactly what's going on. If Nicole doesn't show up, I'm calling the cops."
Elizabeth just raised an eyebrow. "Then go ahead, call the cops. It had nothing to do with me anyway."
If Darlene called the police, Nicole would have to explain herself. Nicole would say she left on her own and wasn't in any danger. As an adult, Nicole didn't need to report her whereabouts to Darlene.
And Nicole should've seen this coming. Elizabeth had said she'd livestream for Nicole, so she didn't hold the phone herself for a video call with Darlene. Instead, she had Raymond's assistant hold the phone and connect with Shirley's phone. Nicole was just watching from the side and didn't appear on camera. Elizabeth wasn't about to let Darlene catch any small details.
Nicole was indeed watching the livestream. Seeing Darlene in this state, she knew Darlene must hate her now. If Darlene called the police, she'd explain and not drag Elizabeth into it.
Matthew, trying to get things back on track, said, "That's not the main issue right now. You should quickly fill out the bid sheet and submit it for registration and screening. The staff helped you find the bid sheet; that was a favor, not an obligation."
He locked eyes with Darlene. "Or do you want those 'useless' people you mentioned to practice? If that's the case, the Spellscroll Group might not get a single gemstone this year." His words were meant to pressure her, to see if she could be as formidable without Nicole.
Darlene's face twisted even more at his words.
Before she could speak, one of the Spellscroll Group's appraisers said, "For the sealed bid, I won't join in as a 'useless' person."
The other appraisers chimed in. "Yeah, we 'useless' people won't participate. Whether the company gets more gemstones depends on Ms. Spellscroll. For the sealed bid, Ms. Spellscroll should handle it; we won't practice."
The onlookers were speechless at Darlene and noticed she wasn't eager to continue with the sealed bid. So they joined in. "Wasting the staff's time isn't good. Ms. Spellscroll, focus on the important matters; Spellscroll Jewelers depends on you. We believe in you, Ms. Spellscroll, go ahead."
Darlene was backed into a corner and had to grit her teeth. "I'll go confirm the numbers again."
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