"Hold on, " Carla stopped them before they could do anything. Her facial expression instantly changed. "I understand that calling the police is necessary. However, why the media as well?"
"That's my decision to make." Alia snarkily responded.
"You…" Carla was speechless.
"Mr. Williams, " Alia instructed authoritatively, "inform all the media outlets in the country about the missing bracelet. If someone finds and returns it, the reward will be five million. However, if it was sold in the black market, I will take necessary legal action."
"Noted, Mrs. Whyte." the lawyer acted accordingly.
"Also, circulate the evidence that was taken just now. The photos and the videos…" Alia added.
Carla instantly plunged into a state of trepidation. If the media were to be informed, the identity of the children will be exposed…
"Let's settle this privately!" Carla promptly said. "What do you want? Be frank with your demands!"
"Privately?" the corner of Alia's lips lifted upwards.
"Slap yourself two hundred times." Lola gritted her teeth and stared ferociously at her.
Carla was dismayed. Nonetheless, she had earlier anticipated that the mother-daughter duo was here to take revenge upon her.
"Lola…" Alia was putting on an act. "She's our relative. How can we do that?"
"Mom…" Lola appeared to be aggrieved.
"Besides, she's with Mr. Giblo. We can't make an enemy of her!" Alia gazed at Carla with a complicated smile. "How are we going to settle this in private?"
"I…" Carla had no idea. Thirty million was not an amount that she could afford.
"I knew it, you don't have any solutions for this." Alia crossed her arms in discontent. "On one hand, you refuse to let us call the police. On the other hand, you refuse to compensate us. Come on, you can't expect us to lose thirty million without getting any compensation. This is preposterous!"
Alia looked the other way. "Miss Loka, Miss Jebay, please be our judge. How can she treat us like this!"
"Yes, that's true…" Miss Loka awkwardly nodded.
Nonetheless, Miss Jebay truthfully answered, "Miss Wigston, since Venus was the one who lost the bracelet, I think you should compensate them…"
"Hey, finally Miss Jebay uttered a proposition that is fair to us!" Alia felt wronged. "Since you're not able to provide a solution, I guess we don't have a choice…"
Alia stood up from her seat…
"Hold on." Carla recalled something and took it out from her bag, "I'll use this then…"
Alia stared at the ruby necklace held firmly in Carla's hands. Shockingly, it was casually wrapped with mere tissue papers. There was no packaging nor any sort of protection to safeguard the treasure. Nevertheless, the necklace radiated captivating shine and beauty.
"Isn't this the ruby necklace that was auctioned off that day?" Lola's eyes shimmered with desire and jealousy. "Is this fake?"
"Let me have a look." Alia retrieved the ruby necklace and scrutinized it meticulously. Shortly after, she confirmed, "It's real!"
"This ruby necklace is priced at a hundred million, " Carla was very reluctant to have pledged it. "It's more than enough to cover your losses. Once I manage to find the necklace, I'll be back to redeem the necklace."
"If you don't manage to find it?" Lola pestered her further. "Then, this necklace will rightfully belong to me!"
"That's not going to work. The value of both items are not the same, " Carla replied anxiously, "if I can't find back your bracelet, I'll find other ways to compensate you. However, you can't lose the necklace as I intend to redeem it!"
"There must be a time limit for this." Alia smirked. "Within seven days, if you can find the bracelet, I'll return this to you."
She proceeded to stipulate her conditions. "If you failed to find the bracelet, you'll need to bring thirty- eight million to compensate us. If you manage to do so, I'll return this necklace back to you. However, if you don't have the bracelet nor the money, then this necklace will belong to me!"
"This…" Carla was hesitant.
"If you don't agree, then I'll call the police and the media over…" Alia used her leverage against Carla.
"I agree." Carla's back was pressed against the wall.
"Alright, then we shall enter into an agreement. Miss Loka and Miss Jebay can be our witnesses, " Alia replied.
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