A Masterful Reversal

Standing calm under Gideon's heavy, accusing stare, Vivienne gracefully put down the fake pearl necklace onto the velvet display tray. A slight, knowing smile touched her lips.

“I didn’t order this batch of mock-ups, so I won’t take this fall,” she stated firmly, her voice carrying undeniable authority through the tense lobby.

Panicking that Vivienne might wiggle out of the trap, Camilla quickly closed the distance between them. She reached out and grabbed her sister's hand tightly. With fake tears welling up in her eyes, Camilla loudly urged her to simply confess to the crime.

"Vivi, please!" Camilla cried, putting on a show for the crowd. "You should tell the truth. After all, Lumina is still our father's company. You mustn't destroy his life's work. Confess so as not to permanently ruin Lumina!"

Unfazed by the pathetic theatrical display, Vivienne forcefully pulled her hand away. She didn't spare her step-sister another glance. Instead, she turned directly to the furious customer, speaking with a professional, soothing tone.

“Madam, you bought fake jewelry from Lumina, and your anger is justified. You paid with your own money, and that means something,” Vivienne assured her. “But don’t worry, I cannot allow Lumina's historic reputation to be dragged through the mud today because of some fakes. I promise you a full, immediate refund. Furthermore, once the truth is uncovered, you will be given a genuine product.”

The wealthy lady was stunned. Getting her money back while keeping the promise of genuine jewelry instantly appeased her temper.

“Fine, that’s fair,” the lady huffed, crossing her arms. “But tell me now, what’s the matter with this counterfeit? We only want to get a statement from you today.”

Turning her lethal sights onto the heavily sweating purchasing department clerk, Vivienne demanded full accountability.

“I did tell you that you’ll be held responsible if something wrong were to happen to this batch of material when I handed over the purchase order to you, right?” Vivienne challenged.

The clerk meekly and defensively insisted on their innocence, lowering her head. “But the materials are indeed ordered according to your order slip. We just followed it to the letter.”

Camilla eagerly and loudly chimed in to back the clerk up. “Yes, Vivi! The purchasing department just ordered according to the slip that you handed to them, so how can you blame them when something goes wrong?”

Vivienne leveled a sharp, dangerous look at her sister. “Otherwise, should I blame you?” she asked pointedly.

Camilla choked, her expression drastically changing as sudden panic set in.

Gideon watched the entire exchange in total silence, standing still as a statue nearby. He frowned, staring with an indifferent gaze. Despite the damning paper trail, he knew deep down in his core that Vivienne, despite her arrogance, would never sabotage the very company her own beloved mother had founded. It made no sense for her to fool around with the brand's reputation.

To shatter the trap, Vivienne reached out and took her original raw material order slip. She presented it directly to the crowd.

“Anyone who knows a thing or two about jewelry knows about the company Onyx Ridge Co., the supplier that I wrote on the order slip,” Vivienne proved, pointing a manicured finger at the ink. “They are an exclusive, top-tier supplier. All the rough stones used by half of Crownhaven’s premium jewelry companies come straight from their pristine mines.”

Several guests nodded in agreement, murmuring among themselves. “The ores from Onyx Ridge Co. are indeed top-notch. The gemstones and diamonds that they produce are worth tens of millions.”

“Yeah, the raw stones of Onyx Ridge Co. can’t be fake.”

Vivienne then expertly and swiftly broke down the counterfeit bracelet right on the glass counter. She held up the broken pieces, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt what they really were.

“The pearls on this bracelet are made of pearl powder and crystal,” Vivienne explained. “As we all know, crystal is worth very little in the market. Premium and natural crystals are only worth approximately four to six hundred dollars per ounce. These are cheaply made of nearly worthless ordinary crystal. It is a stark, undeniable contrast to Onyx Ridge Co.'s premium, flawless ores.”

The wealthy lady did some quick math. “Then is the crystal in my pearl bracelet worth the money?”

“It’s of course worthless. They’re just ordinary crystals,” Vivienne confirmed. She smiled and looked back at the purchasing employee. “You’ve been working in a jewelry company for so many years, and you don’t even know the gemstones of Onyx Ridge Co.?”

Desperate and flailing to keep Vivienne pinned to the crime, Camilla blurted out loudly, “They did buy it from Onyx Ridge Co.! But now that counterfeits are found, it only shows that Onyx Ridge Co. itself might be secretly selling fakes to the market!”

The moment the words left her mouth, the entire room instantly fell into a heavy, awkward silence. The guests stared at her, their gazes shifting.

Vivienne chuckled darkly at the director's blatant, horrifying ignorance of the industry.

“Director Kensington, you’re working in the jewelry industry,” Vivienne admonished sharply. “How come you didn’t inquire about the company Onyx Ridge Co. back when you took over Lumina? Don’t go around telling others that the raw materials of Onyx Ridge Co. are fake when you have meager knowledge about them. You’re not only offending the owner of Onyx Ridge Co. but also making a massive joke out of yourself.”

With Camilla turning a deep shade of crimson from the audible, hushed laughter of the wealthy guests, Vivienne firmly stated the obvious conclusion.

“The cause of this fake pearls incident definitely did not originate from the supplies. Onyx Ridge does not deal in fakes,” Vivienne declared loudly. “This means that these premium materials had clearly been illegally swapped internally to pocket the cash.”

Glaring viciously at the trembling clerks, she continued, “I worked in the jewelry design industry in Dravenia. Do you doubt my ability to distinguish the genuine from the fakes? I won't stand here and take the fall for them. It is time to replace the entire corrupt purchasing department.”

The faces of the employees turned pale.

Camilla nervously stammered, desperately trying to defend her loyal staff. “Vivi, although the people in the purchasing department have caused this issue, you can’t just fire them. After all, all of them acted according to the instructions—”

“Then are you saying that there’s a problem with my order?” Vivienne cut her off.

“I…”

Vivienne merely sneered, loudly pointing out the facts. “The public has just seen it. The order undeniably stated Onyx Ridge Co., so how did it go wrong when the order arrived at the purchasing department?”

She bluntly and publicly challenged Camilla's fundamental competence. “I warned them at the time that the purchasing department would be held responsible for the mistake. However, if the purchasing department made such a severe, catastrophic mistake under your direct management, the director herself should face the severe consequences of the failure. If you can be held responsible for the incident, then I won't care about it.”

Completely cornered and publicly humiliated, Camilla bit her lip hard. At a loss, she looked helplessly up at Gideon with wide, tearful eyes.

Gideon stood there with a tight jaw. He was visibly disappointed by Camilla’s incompetent handling of the corporate crisis. She had shown she didn't understand the market at all. Yet, he understood her limitations, and ultimately chose to shield her from the fallout.

Using his ultimate authority, he stepped in to shut the argument down.

“Then dismiss the person in charge of the purchasing department,” Gideon ordered, casually brushing the massive scandal off. “After all, it’s an error of the department.”

Vivienne could not help but feel ridiculed by his blatant, irrational double standard.

"Doesn't she need to be held responsible as the company’s director?" Vivienne asked directly, her gaze locking onto him.

Gideon’s eyes turned cold and defensive. He stubbornly protected the woman he believed saved him all those years ago.

“Camilla’s knowledge in the jewelry industry isn’t as good as yours,” Gideon argued, stepping firmly between the two women. “She herself probably doesn’t know anything about such mistakes. So how do you want her to be held responsible?”