Chapter 213: Caught Red-Handed
Yunice kept her hand on the ginseng box, her tone light and deliberate. “Do you know how rare a century-old ginseng is? And do you know that once rare medicinal herbs like this pass through the hands of a licensed supplier, they’re immediately authenticated and tagged with a unique serial number to mark their value?”
Elsie’s face showed clear confusion. She had never heard of medicinal herbs having serial numbers.
Yunice asked, “So, do you think this ginseng might have a number on it?”
Elsie hesitated. “It’s so valuable, I was afraid to damage it, so I didn’t check. I’m not sure if there’s a number on it or not.”
Yunice continued, “Then you must not know that a month ago, someone reported a stolen century-old ginseng. They even provided the serial number—this one right here in my hands.”
Elsie’s eyes flew wide open; she stared at Yunice in shock.
Yunice held up the gift box. “If you can’t provide proof of purchase for this ginseng, I’ll have every reason to believe you stole it.”
Elsie went pale. She never imagined Quinton would discover the ginseng had been swapped—let alone that he would report it to the police. She especially didn’t expect the ginseng to have a serial number, or that she’d get caught red-handed.
Owen stepped up. “You’re just targeting my sister. Someone must’ve switched the ginseng to set her up! I demand to see the security footage!” He glared at Jackson and Taylor, suspecting them of playing dirty tricks just to humiliate the Saunders family.
“Owen!” Elsie was fed up with this idiot of a teammate.
Linda sneered. “So Mr. Owen allows his sister to gift us stolen property, and instead of taking responsibility, you turn around and accuse us? Fine, let’s check the footage. You think the Powell family is afraid of you?”
When the security footage was brought out, Elsie stood frozen in place. Everyone knew that prominent families valued their privacy; for banquets like this, photography and filming were strictly prohibited. Surveillance? Unheard of. But the Powell family had secretly installed cameras.
Linda explained, “Don’t worry—only the gift table was monitored. Since all your gifts are valuable, we had to verify each one to avoid misunderstandings like this. We wouldn’t want to be accused of anything shady.”
That line was clearly aimed at Elsie.
Elsie, face flushed with shame, tugged at Owen’s sleeve and whispered with a trembling voice, “Owen, let’s not watch the footage. We’ve obviously been set up—let’s just take the loss…”
But Owen, ever the blunt one, declared, “Don’t give up, Elsie—don’t be afraid. I’ll clear your name.” Then he turned a cold glare toward Yunice and gritted out, “And I’ll make sure your name is exposed too.”
The footage appeared on the big screen. Clear as day, it showed Elsie at the gift table, proudly announcing herself as the Powell family’s future granddaughter-in-law.
“She really had the nerve to blame it on the staff messing up the registry. Turns out she just inflated her own worth.”
“No wonder she kept trying to leech off Ms. Taylor’s status—she just wanted to get noticed by the Powells.”
“Infamy is still fame, I guess. At least now everyone knows her, huh…”
Elsie shook her head in agony and collapsed into Owen’s arms. “That’s not true! I wasn’t trying to fake anything—Paul promised he’d marry me…”
Owen still believed she was innocent. He shouted, “You all know the truth deep down!” Then he shot a bitter look at Taylor. “Stealing someone else’s man isn’t exactly something to be proud of.” With that, he wrapped an arm around Elsie. “I’m taking you out of here.”
Yunice took the chance to speak up. “Then I’ll return the stolen ginseng to its rightful owner for you.”
Owen shot her a murderous glare. As if things weren’t humiliating enough already.
Jackson slammed his cane on the ground, face dark with fury. “You think the Powell family is your stage for drama?” This was his birthday, not a place for public spectacle.
Linda didn’t waste another second. She ordered the Saunders family to be escorted out. The servants pushed them from the hall; Owen kicked back in frustration.
Eluc, pale and trembling, choked out, “Owen, I’m sorry. I was just too naive… That’s how I got manipulated. You can hit me if you want…”