<h4>Chapter 249: The Fool Takes the Bait</h4>


    Upstairs, someone silently watched the pair sitting closely together. It was Henry.


    His hands gripped the white railing as his heart raced. Now he felt like he was truly sick, maybe even going mad. Just seeing her back or hearing her voice was enough to drive him insane, to make him lose control!


    Tonight was supposed to be a joyous housewarming, but he couldn’t go near her.


    Because standing by E’s side was always Eric.


    The banquet was about to start. E woke up, having only napped for about ten minutes, but she was already feeling lively and refreshed.


    At that moment, Mrs. Taylor approached, and E quickly walked over to greet her. This Mrs. Taylor had shown her genuine care since her rebirth, and E hade to regard her as a true friend.


    After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Mrs. Taylor held E’s hand, smiling warmly. "E, I can’t believe how much you’ve blossomed in just two short years. You’ve grown so much!"


    E smiled. "It’s all thanks to your care, Mrs. Taylor. I wouldn’t have grown up so happily without it!"


    Eric suddenly felt a bit hurt by E’s words. Wasn’t it him who had always been looking after her?


    E didn’t notice the dark expression that had crossed someone’s face, but she did see Rachel and Connoring down the stairs together.


    "Oh, Mrs. Taylor, you’re here too? What a pleasure!" Rachel hurried over, her tone eager, like a puppy seeking attention.


    Several other societydies had apanied Mrs. Taylor, all of whom had good rtions with Grace.


    "And you are...?" Mrs. Taylor raised an eyebrow, trying to ce Rachel. Rachel quickly smiled politely and said, "I’m Rachel, the server from the charity event at the L Hotel. Mrs. Taylor, you don’t remember me?"


    E smiled faintly. Rachel, despite her less privileged background, knew how to ingratiate herself with high society. Whenever Rachel had free time, she would seek out jobs at prestigious venues to increase her ie and meet influential people. It was a win-win situation for her.


    Mrs. Taylor smiled, a trace of mockery shing in her eyes. "Sorry, there are just so many servers. I can’t remember all of them."


    Rachel’s face twitched awkwardly, but she quickly shook her head, pretending not to mind. "Oh, it’s no problem! Important people like you tend to forget the little things."


    "Oh please, you’re just a lowly server. Trying to climb the socialdder isn’t as easy as ttering people!" One of the otherdies, disgusted by Rachel’s behavior, couldn’t hold back and spoke directly.


    Rachel’s expression was quite the spectacle, but she quickly regained herposure.


    "Haha, I’m really sorry, I guess I just don’t know how to speak properly!" she said with forced humility.


    E found the situation amusing. Rachel was always trying to cozy up to the upper ss, but they clearly had no interest in her.


    At that moment, Mrs. Taylor’s sharp eyes caught sight of the sapphire ne around Rachel’s neck. She chuckled lightly. "Well, Miss White, your boyfriend must treat you well. That sapphire ne must be worth at least a hundred thousand, right?"


    Rachel froze, looking down at the sapphire ne around her neck. She was momentarily stunned.


    She distinctly remembered not wearing any ne. After all, she was poor and had to be very frugal with her living expenses. If Leah hadn’t sponsored her, she wouldn’t even have been able to afford the dress she was wearing for the banquet.


    No wonder she had felt something strange when she woke up earlier, but she hadn’t noticed the ne at the time because she was still groggy.


    "Exactly! Such a beautiful sapphire must be worth over a hundred thousand. Miss White has definitely climbed the socialdder!"


    "Miss White is quite good-looking, she certainly has the assets for it!" Several otherdies around began tough as well.


    Rachel instinctively turned to look behind her, wanting to ask how the ne had ended up around her neck. After all, she had fallen asleep in the guest lounge earlier. At the time, only she and Connor had been in the room, and when she woke up, her clothes were still perfectly neat, which had reassured her.


    But when Rachel turned around, she realized that Connor had disappeared!


    What was going on?


    He had been standing right behind her just moments ago, so how had he vanished in the blink of an eye?


    Rachel was filled with a growing sense of unease. At that moment, a servant rushed down the stairs, shouting loudly, "Stop the thief! There’s a thief!"


    The room instantly fell silent as everyone turned to look at the panicked servant.


    Grace’s expression changed slightly. She was frustrated that the servant, with her poor manners andck of decorum, was causing such a scene at an event of this scale. This would surely lead to embarrassment and gossip.


    Rachel’s heart pounded in her chest. When she snapped out of her thoughts, she realized the servant had already rushed up to her. "She... she stole Madam’s sapphire ne!"


    Rachel froze, her hands and feet suddenly cold as ice.


    E and Eric stood off to the side, watching her with cold, indifferent expressions.


    Rachel had tried to frame E time and time again, but this time, E wasn’t going to give her another chance. That man, Connor, had actually been working for Eric the whole time!


    Eric had intentionally let Connor be exposed in front of Leah to lure her into their trap, and Leah had then introduced Connor to Rachel without realizing she was ying right into their hands!


    Grace and James hurried over. "What’s going on? Mrs. Moore, did you really see this youngdy stealing something?"


    Rachel’s face flushed bright red. She could feel the judgmental, mocking, and disdainful stares from everyone around her.


    The servant nodded vigorously, her emotions running high. "After delivering drinks to the guests upstairs, I saw thisdying out of Madam’s room. I was worried something might have been stolen, so I went in to check. To my horror, Madam’s jewelry box was sitting open on the vanity, and the sapphire ne was missing!"


    The servant had a good rtionship with Grace, who had always treated her kindly and hidden her true nature well.


    The servant was also familiar with the sapphire ne, as Grace wore it often.


    All eyes in the room now shifted to the sapphire ne around Rachel’s neck.


    "Isn’t that Mrs. Nelson’s ne? I’m sure I’ve seen her wear it before!"


    "Who would have thought that such a beautiful, seductive girl would turn out to be a thief?"


    "Typical behavior for someone from a poor background. She’s just here for the party and took the opportunity to steal something!"


    Terrified, Rachel quickly removed the ne from her neck. "Mrs. Nelson, it wasn’t me... I didn’t steal it! I was hypnotized! The man who was with me earlier is a hypnotist! He made me go into the room and take it! Why else would I wear it openly after stealing it?"


    Her words were met with a chorus of scoffs and mockingughter. Hardly anyone believed that Connor was actually a hypnotist.


    "She probably just thought no one would notice that the ne looked like Mrs. Nelson’s, right? Did she really think she wouldn’t get caught?"