"Oh my God!"

Miriam Croft gasped, her eyes wide as she stared at Evelyn. Her voice shook slightly. "Have you lost your mind?"

Evelyn had just shattered a wine bottle. Yet her expression was eerily calm. She brushed the remaining glass shards from her hands. She lifted her gaze slowly. "If I hadn't done that, would you still believe I'm a coward?"

She let out a short, cold laugh. She cut Miriam off before more nonsense could be spoken. "The prestigious Sterling family, resorting to publicly framing an innocent guest? Now that is truly shocking."

Without another word, Evelyn pulled a chair over. She sat down, completely unfazed. "Go get whoever is in charge of the Sterling family. I have no interest in wasting my breath on unreasonable people like you."

Miriam was momentarily speechless. Evelyn's sudden demand threw her off balance.

She hesitated. Then she quickly regained her composure. "They're busy! They don't have time for petty matters like this."

Her mind raced. There were barely thirty minutes left. The birthday banquet was about to start officially.

She couldn't let Evelyn stall any longer.

Miriam's expression darkened. She gritted her teeth. "Since you refuse to cooperate, we'll have to search you. We'll check your bag. We need to see if Miss Sterling's missing gift is in your possession."

She had already prepared a necklace in advance. Slipping it into Evelyn's bag would be easy once it was opened. But Evelyn didn't react as expected. Instead of complying, she clutched her bag tightly to her chest.

Her gaze turned sharp. Her voice was edged with defiance. "You have no right to search me. Trying to force a search based on nothing but accusations? Don't you think that's excessive?"

She hadn't stolen anything. She refused to prove her innocence under false pretenses.

That would only give them control.

The real move was to turn the tables.

She took her time. Her tone was even. "And if you 'coincidentally' find the stolen item in my bag during this search? Who would I appeal to then? There is no way I'm letting you touch my things."

Miriam's face paled with anger. She opened her mouth to argue. But Evelyn was faster.

This time, Evelyn turned to Madeline Fitzgerald. She was the woman who had approached her earlier for gossip.

A knowing smile played on Evelyn's lips. "This lovely lady, wouldn't you agree that what I'm saying makes perfect sense?"

Madeline blinked, briefly caught off guard. But she quickly nodded. "Of course! The Sterling family may be powerful. But that doesn't grant them the right to accuse someone of theft without proof. At the very least, they should show us the surveillance footage. Otherwise, why should any of us believe them?"

Miriam stiffened. She hadn't expected Evelyn to drag someone else into this. Especially not Madeline, the daughter of a prominent family in Crestwood.

This was bad. Miriam forced a smile to mask her rising panic. She tried again. "Miss Sterling's birthday party is about to begin. We truly cannot afford any delays."

But Madeline simply gave her a sideways glance. "Why should I care? You keep insisting there's no time to waste. Yet you're the one dragging this out. Instead of showing us the surveillance footage. What exactly are you trying to hide?"