Chapter 400: Call the Police

Cecilia, unwilling to confront the Quirk family directly, claimed, "I never said Janice stole it. My bracelet is simply missing."

Christopher scoffed. "So, you and Janice have identical bracelets, and yours is missing? Therefore, others assumed Janice stole it and tried to retrieve it for you?" Cecilia was speechless.

Rosalie interjected, "Damaging someone's property can lead to imprisonment. The antique bracelet my sister-in-law gave Janice is worth tens of millions, and it's broken." This shocked everyone present.

"What? Isn't the most expensive bracelet in that series only worth a million?"

"Are you kidding? Why would Janice own a tens-of-millions-dollar bracelet? Who is she?"

Seeing them shift blame, Carlos stated, "Bracelets in the same series are similar. The most expensive is around a million, but Janice's is a unique antique, now damaged. Should I call the police?"

Finally, someone spoke up: "Cecilia, that bracelet is yours, isn't it? Remember crying about losing your brother's bracelet? We saw a similar one on Janice, and you didn't deny it!"

Another added, "Mr. Cody, we even suggested Janice might have stolen it. You didn't clarify, leading to the misunderstanding! This isn't our fault!"

Fear of responsibility prompted several people to reveal their misleading actions. Had they known Janice possessed the bracelet, their comments would have been highly misleading. While they weren't afraid of offending Janice, the bracelet's value meant few could afford compensation, and nobody wanted police involvement.

Cody and Cecilia looked distressed; their actions were indefensible. Cecilia's manipulations were exposed. While she didn't directly encourage Dylan to steal the bracelet, she played the victim, prompting Dylan to give her a similar one. Knowing Janice secretly wore a similar bracelet, Cecilia orchestrated a scenario where it seemed she'd lost her bracelet, and Janice had it afterward. This, coupled with her affair with Cody (who wouldn't defend Janice), allowed Cecilia to use peer pressure to ruin Janice. This pattern of behavior, it seemed, had been successful before. Cody and Dylan were also implicated.

Cody finally shouted, "Everyone shut up! Did Cecilia and I say anything? It's your assumptions! What does it have to do with us?"

Cecilia, feigning distress, hid behind Cody. "I don't know why this happened. I know nothing. The similar bracelets are probably a coincidence."

Everyone realized they'd wronged Janice. Previously, it could have been overlooked, but the bracelet's value changed everything.

"She broke it. We only made comments," someone pointed at Pamela, the girl who spearheaded the bullying.

Despite her flushed face and embarrassment over Cecilia's betrayal, Pamela, a seemingly influential girl, retorted, "I expressed a reasonable suspicion. If Janice had let us appraise it, there would be no misunderstanding, and the bracelet wouldn't be broken."

Isabella said, "She's good at arguing. Carlos, call the police."

Panic ensued, with everyone trying to dissuade Pamela.

"Don't be unreasonable!" Pamela stammered, nervously looking at Cody for support.

This revised version improves grammar, punctuation, and flow, creating a more coherent and readable narrative. It also removes the extraneous information at the beginning and end that doesn't seem to fit within the chapter itself.