"Let's not wear that brooch for the event."

  As Gavin spoke, he lifted his gaze and looked deeply at Audrey, his eyes turning slightly cold. "Ma'am, we'll be heading out soon. If you really took the brooch, you can return it while we're gone during this time. I promise I won't hold you responsible in any way."

  He felt this approach already gave the other party considerable pride and was a very gentle way of handling it.

  But Audrey, with a clear conscience and unafraid of a distorted reflection, clarified once again, "Sirs, I've worked at this hotel for over ten years and have never taken anything belonging to a guest. If the lost item is truly important to you, I still suggest you call the police to avoid unnecessary losses."

  "You..." The lean man, seeing Audrey remained unmoved by persuasion or threats, immediately flew into a rage and cursed, "Don't you dare refuse a favor offered! Do you really think we can't do anything about you?"

  Audrey was deeply angered by the other party's false accusations and arrogant, rude attitude. But being in her position, she couldn't react too strongly. She could only turn her head away in anger and ignore him.

  The manager had worked with Audrey for a long time and naturally understood her character. He couldn't help but speak up in her defense. "Gentlemen, please calm down. It's not that I'm protecting our staff, but this is a long-time employee who has been here for over a decade. She has previously found large sums of cash left behind by guests in rooms and always contacted the guests immediately to return it. Our Housekeeping Department even has a 'Returning Lost Property' commendation banner from a guest."

  "Of course she'd return a large sum of cash—it's so conspicuous! How could she stuff it in her pocket and take it? That brooch is different. It could be easily hidden and stolen away. Who would notice?" The lean man refused to relent, glaring at Audrey mockingly. "She's not even wearing her work pass. Isn't that because she's guilty and afraid we'll remember her name?"

  "Mom?"

  The words had just left his mouth when Grace's voice sounded from the doorway.

  The tense, confrontational atmosphere in the room froze. Everyone looked towards the door. Seeing Grace, the housekeeping manager and the lean man were instinctively taken aback, while Gavin was utterly dumbfounded.

  Was it her?

  That girl from the plane yesterday who sat next to him but didn't know him!

  He then shifted his gaze to the housekeeping staff member, the only woman in the room who could be her mother.

  "I brought your pass. I've been looking for you from the 26th floor up. I sent you messages, but you didn't reply."

  Audrey took the work pass and clipped it onto her clothes. Seemingly not wanting her daughter to witness this scene of her being falsely accused, Audrey urged, "Mom's working. You should head back first."

  There were only a few people in the room. Grace naturally also recognized Gavin. Although she didn't know the full story, she had overheard snippets of conversation in the hallway.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  She responded to the man's previous remark, "My mom isn't feeling guilty. She forgot her work pass at home this morning, so she wasn't wearing it."

  "Grace, this doesn't concern you. Go back first, be good." Audrey knew her daughter's temperament and didn't want her to get into a verbal conflict with the two men. She couldn't help but tug at her daughter's arm, trying to get her to leave first.

  Grace looked at her mother and said softly, "Mom, don't be afraid. I know what I'm doing."

  Turning around, she looked directly at Gavin, her expression neutral. "What did you lose? Where and when did you lose it?"

  Gavin seemed not to have expected her to be so calm and to address her questions directly to him right off the bat.

  "Please think carefully. As a hotel staff member, my mom has an obligation to help you handle such incidents. But as the party involved, you also have a responsibility to carefully recall all the details," Grace added.

  Audrey, who had initially wanted to persuade her daughter to leave, found herself nodding inexplicably upon hearing her daughter's words, feeling that what she said made sense.

  The lean man had initially thought the girl was quite pretty and had been focusing on her face. But her opening words immediately angered him. "Who are you? Do you know who you're talking t—"

  Before he could finish, Gavin patted his shoulder to stop him. The lean man looked at Gavin in confusion, only to see him speak up with a serious expression. "I lost a diamond brooch, right in this hotel room. I don't remember exactly when it went missing."

  He answered the three questions Grace had asked.

  Hearing this, Grace asked further, "When and where was the last time you saw such a valuable brooch?"

  "Last night, in the room."

  "Were you alone at that time?"

  Gavin shook his head. "No, there were other people."

  Seeing the two of them conversing, the lean man couldn't help but interject, "After we arrived at the hotel last night, the brand sent over the clothes and the brooch. The clothes are hanging in the wardrobe by the entrance, but the brooch is gone."

  "So, after getting up this morning and before my mother entered the room, did you see the brooch again?"

  A flicker of embarrassment passed through Gavin's eyes, but he still shook his head honestly. "I didn't pay attention. But when the brand rep came yesterday, they placed the brooch box on the table. I saw the box was still there, but I didn't specifically open it to check the brooch. When I did open it, the brooch was already gone."

  Hearing this, Grace said, "In other words, the last time you saw the brooch was last night. At that time, there were many people in your room besides you—people from your team, people from the brand."

  "Then how can you conclude that the brooch was lost only after my mother entered the room?"

  Gavin was momentarily at a loss for words. After a moment's hesitation, he explained, "We already asked the others on the team. They all said..."

  "They all said they didn't take it?" Grace interrupted Gavin, letting out a cold laugh. "My mother also said she didn't take it. Why is it that when your people say they didn't take it, it's true, but when my mother says she didn't, it's an excuse?"

  Gavin was speechless. Because Grace's logic was airtight. They truly had no concrete evidence. It was simply because of...

  The hierarchy and arrogance of class!

  When this phrase flashed through Gavin's mind, his brows couldn't help but furrow tightly. Only then did he realize he had made a fundamental error.

  He shouldn't have been like this!

  Grace turned, walked to the doorway, and closed the room door. Then she walked back and looked at the people in the room. "You trust your people, the hotel trusts my mother—that's all understandable. But a brooch doesn't have legs or wings to fly away on its own. If no one else has truly entered this room, then it's highly likely still here in this room."

  With that, without wasting any more time, she proactively started searching. "Everyone, let's look again carefully together."

  She walked to the entrance area and opened the wardrobe. The suit sent by the brand was hanging inside. Grace intended to start searching from the entrance, but as she reached in to take down the suit jacket hanging inside, a sparkling brooch was attached to the clothes!