Chapter 821

Having been with him for many years, Elizabeth could easily tell if he was genuinely angry or faking it. Realizing something was amiss, she calmed down, only pouting slightly as she rose to her feet.

"Mom!"

Damian rushed to help her and looked at his father.

"Dad, I know it's my fault, and this is my responsibility. However, someone set me up. I don't believe there's a problem with the perfumes. Someone must have tampered with them."

He suspected Arianna, but after careful consideration, believed only his own people could have tampered with the perfume manufacturing. Even if Naomi Schiffer had no malicious intent, someone could have interfered with the perfumes during delivery to the lab. He felt stuck, able only to guess wildly.

Joseph snorted.

"You still won't admit there's a problem with the perfumes? To be thorough, I've sent all the perfumes to the lab—the returned scents, the ones your sister bought for her mother, and the factory's remaining stock. All of them have the same problem!"

"Even if there's a problem, does that prove my perfume is faulty? They could have tampered with them." Elizabeth remained unconvinced.

"Can you stop treating them as enemies?"

Joseph glared at her. "Even if they wanted to tamper with them, would they know what to add? Do you think it's as easy as spiking wine?"

Damian pursed his lips, thinking. "Dad, Mom still has a bottle here. Let's take it to the lab."

"There's no need," Joseph said dismissively, having lost hope. "They're all from the same batch. There won't be an exception."

"We can't be sure. We need to test it!" Damian insisted. "I hired that famous overseas perfumer through many connections. If you don't believe me, look him up online. He's award-winning, a top perfumer. He wouldn't make a rookie mistake like this. You'll know when you see his credentials!"

If the ingredients were faulty, the blame would fall on the perfumer. However, Damian had complete faith in his friend.

"Do you think I haven't tried to find him?" Joseph roared, his anger flaring. "Do you think he can still be found?"

Stunned, Damian asked, "Still be found? What do you mean?"

"What the f*ck do you think I mean?! I suspected the perfumer immediately, and even if he's innocent, we need to find him. But I have no idea where he is!"

The lack of news was alarming. If the perfumer is as talented and renowned as he claims, and innocent, why did he vanish? Something's not right. Someone is behind this! Damian thought. The incident seemed a carefully planned trap.

"Dad, someone set me up. I'm telling the truth!" His earlier hope crumbled, replaced by despair.