Lyman paused mid-step and asked, "What''s going on?"


    The store manager, nerves etched across her face, turned to him. "Mr. Etheridge,


    I just noticed there''s a diamond missing from the earring!"


    "I checked carefully before bringing out the store''s signature piece," she continued, voice trembling. "Everything was in perfect condition, and I even had my staff record a video as we opened the safe. But now..." The manager looked at Lyman with desperate hope, silently pleading with him to believe she was innocent. But whether he did or not was entirely up to him.


    She watched Lyman anxiously, terrified that one wrong move would cost her the job she''d worked so hard to keep.


    "Find out exactly what happened," Lyman ordered, his tone clipped.


    Isabel, never one to miss an opportunity to stir the pot, chimed in with feigned concern. "Oh dear, how could this have happened? I remember the diamond was perfectly intact when I wore the earring. It''s a pink diamond, not exactly small, and worth a pretty penny, isn''t it?"


    Her words cast a heavy silence over the room. No one dared speak-if the diamond wasn''t found, who knew what consequences they''d face?


    Just then, Effie emerged from the changing room, dressed in her own clothes again.


    "What''s going on?" she asked, taking in the tense atmosphere.


    "You''re just in time," Isabel said, her voice sharp with usation. "Did you know the earring''s missing a diamond?"


    Effie hesitated, eyes flicking to the earring in question. She didn''t answer Isabel directly, but simply reached out. "May I see it?"


    "Give it to her," Lyman instructed, not hesitating for a second. He trusted Effie implicitly-if she had wanted that earring, he would''ve given it to her, the wholepany, anything.


    Effie took the earring and inspected it closely.


    Isabel, unwilling to let the matter drop, sniped from the side, "You can stare at it all you want, but the diamond''s not going to magically reappear."


    Effie didn''t even bother acknowledging her, keeping her eyes on the earring and acting as if Isabel was talking to herself.


    After a moment, Effie spoke up. "This earring was designed for beauty, using a special setting that makes the stones look like they''re bnced delicately on top. But n reality, the prongs are strong enough to hold the diamond securely. Unless someone used force, there''s no way it could''ve fallen out on its own."


    Isabel thought privately that Effie really did know her stuff-she''d spotted the issue right away. But so what?


    With mock amazement, Isabel pressed on, "Wow, you certainly know a lot. Maybe a little too much. How do you know someone used force to pry the diamond out? Unless you were the one who did it?"


    Annabel shot Isabel a withering look. "Isabel, that''s enough. Shut your mouth."


    Isabel''s eyes widened theatrically, as if genuinely hurt. "Annabel, I''m just telling the truth. Is that a crime?"


    Annabel replied coolly, "No one''s ming you for telling the truth, but you can''t go around making usations without a shred of evidence."


    At that, Isabel''sposure broke. Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she sobbed as though she''d been deeply wronged. "What did I ever do to you? Why, as my boss, do always defend Effie-the outsider-instead of your own


    people? Or is there something going on between you two?"


    That remark made everyone pause. The way Annabel and Effie had been


    standing together, supporting each other... Was there something more between them?


    Clearly, Isabel''s ploy was working; doubt flickered in the onlookers'' eyes.


    But Annabel was never one to y by the rules. She said, "You''re my employee. I''ve watched you grow up. If I''m not siding with you, why would I take Effie''s side? Maybe you''re eager to me Effie because you have something to hide."


    SO