Chapter 84 The Lost Engagement Ring
"But..."
Alice's words were cut short by Curtis. "We'll discuss this later. For now, let's eat."
She bit her lip in vexation, but in an effort to uphold her image of grace and dignity, she suppressed her discontent.
As she lifted her gaze, she noticed Adrian's attention was elsewhere. Natalie had just emerged from the kitchen and seemed to be heading for the back door, prepared to depart.
A shadow crossed Alice's eyes, and her fists clenched tightly.
'Natalie...'
Despite her inexpensive attire and the mask obscuring half her face, she had still managed to captivate Adrian.
Alice would not let this pass lightly!
A covert glance in Renee's direction and a slight nod was all it took.
Understanding her cue, Renee returned the nod and promptly made her way towards the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Natalie had completed the tasks assigned by Renee and was preparing to slip away while the Howard family dined, hoping to avoid another encounter with Adrian.
Little did she know that upon her return home, she would be greeted by Lizzy's urgent voice from outside her door. "Natalie, come quickly."
"What's the matter?" Natalie inquired.
"Renee wants us in the living room immediately," Lizzy informed her.
Natalie's eyes flickered with confusion. 'The living room? That means we'll be in the same room as the Howard family, right? Alice wouldn't allow that. But if Renee didn't have permission, how could she dare to do this?'
Pushing her thoughts aside, she quickly followed Lizzy to the living room.
In the living room, the meal had concluded and the group sat on the couch, the atmosphere thick with tension.
Alice's eyes were tinged with red, her face a mask of worry and distress. "I had the ring on this morning, how could it just vanish?" Her almond-shaped eyes flickered as she looked at Adrian. "Adria, I'm sorry..."
Adrian's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent.
Melissa quickly moved to comfort her. "You're pregnant now, don't stress yourself." She patted Alice's arm. "Since you had it on this morning, it might be lost somewhere in the house. Let's ask whoever cleaned the rooms if they found it."
Avery shot a glare at Renee. "Who cleaned Ms. Cullen's room this morning?"
"I've already summoned the maid who cleaned Miss's room this morning," Renee responded.
Curtis looked displeased and cast a glance at Avery. This was a private matter, why were they making it so public? Especially with Ruben present, it felt like they were putting on a spectacle.
Upon Natalie's arrival in the living room, she found herself, Lizzy, and another maid responsible for cleaning the upstairs bedrooms, Marie.
From afar, they could hear Marie's panicked voice. "I really didn't see it, I even checked when I took out the trash this morning to avoid losing any valuable items. Wait, Natalie! Natalie cleaned Ms. Cullen's room this morning!"
Natalie's steps faltered as Marie's words successfully drew everyone's attention to her.
She lifted her gaze and met Adrian's eyes. After a few seconds, Adrian slowly averted his gaze, as if their previous encounter on the balcony had never happened.
Even if Natalie was naive, she understood that she was now in a predicament.
Renee approached her, her expression stern. "Natalie, Ms. Cullen's engagement ring is missing. Did you take it?"
Take it?
Natalie's brow furrowed, as if she had been accused of theft.
"That ring was placed on her finger by Adrian when they got engaged, and the Howard family had it specially made. It's worth a fortune. Alice cherishes it like a treasure, how could it just disappear?"
Although Natalie was perplexed, she maintained her composure. "When I went to tidy up the bedroom, it was already clean. I didn't see the ring."
Renee's voice rose in volume. "The only people who went to the bedroom were you and Marie. Now that the ring is missing, one of you must be lying!"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
