The Missing Necklace 2

"The necklace is worth a few billion dollars and it is under copyright. So, if I report it missing, you can imagine how big the chaos will be like when investigations start."

"So," she said with a smile. Her face was gentle and she looked calm and thoughtful. But, the glint in her eyes was unmistakable. "If any of you is the culprit, I believe it's best you come clean now before the matter becomes big."

As a matter if fact, Hailey wasn't really after the thief coming clean. She knew most teenagers valued face and wouldn't want to admit such a thing in front of their classmates. But, she wasn't about to let the matter go.

Not only was the necklace precious and rare, it held a lot of meaning to it. Moreover, they were guests but they trespassed into someone else's room and disorganized it. They even stole from them.

She wasn't that nice and patient.

Hailey dropped the box on the table. Then, she folded her arms and started at them quietly. Her gaze was unreadable and as it fell on each of them, it seemed as though she could see through them.

Indeed, that was what Hailey was doing. She was carefully watching their movements, waiting for the culprit to be caught off guard.

They were all teenagers, after all. Under such scrutiny, most of them wavered and Hailey could hear them asking one another if they had done it.

When Ashley saw this, she gritted her teeth.

'Bunch of idiots," she scolded inwardly.

Then, she stood up and said to Hailey, "Sister, I think you've misunderstood. None of my friends are thieves and they wouldn't do such a thing. You can't accuse people casually like this."

Hailey raised a brow. She nodded and said, "Sure. Your friends didn't do it." Then, she paused. "Then, did you do it?"

Ashley gasped. She seemed shocked and alarmed.

"Sister, how can you say such a thing…?"

One of her friends chimed in, "Yes. How can you accuse your own sisters like this? It could be that you misplaced it or something."

"It might even be that there is no such jewelry in the first place."

"Ashley, have you seen the bracelet before?" Someone asked.

Ashley pursed her lips and picked the box. She turned it over from time to time before she shook her head. "No. I've not seen or heard anything about it before."

Instantly, there was an uproar amongst them. The girl who had brought up the idea instantly sprang up from her seat.

She rushed over, pointing at Hailey's nose. "You're a liar. There is no such a thing as a necklace in there. If there was something that expensive, why does Ashley not even know about it at all."

The situation instantly tipped in their favour and Hailey seemed to be on the losing end. They kept shouting and ranting about how unjust it was to accuse someone without proof.

Hailey didn't say a word and she merely sat there quietly. She seemed unfazed and it was as though, she was watching a group of clowns perform in front of her.

Ashley brushed her hair as she pulled one of her friends who wanted to rant more at Hailey back. Then, she scrunched her nose, her face frowning pitifully.

"Don't attack my sister like this. Even if she was mistaken, you should at least let it go for my sake."

Hailey snorted immediately. She opened her mouth to say something. But, someone was even faster.

"Why did you guys go upstairs earlier?"

It was Neo. He hadn't said a word since the beginning and was only staring at them quietly watching it all unfold. He had even pulled his friend back too, urg9ng him to keep silent.

The living room instantly turned quiet. Everyone turned their attention towards him including Hailey.

When Neo saw that no one was answering him, he repeated, facing Ashley and her friends. "When we arrived earlier, you guys went upstairs and you took some time to return. Why did you go upstairs?"

Ashley and her friends were speechless. Indeed, they had all gone upstairs earlier. They all knew it was Ashley's sister's room as she always told them about her. She said a lot of things about how characterless and wicked she was. So, they wanted to help her vent her anger.

But, they didn't know that Neo noticed their actions. After all, Ashley had given them a pair of game pads to play with before they left.

But still…

Even if he knew, wasn't he supposed to keep quiet and act as though he didn't. Ashley was the most disappointed. She had put her hopes on him since she knew he liked her and was planning to woo her. He was different from the other boys at school. Not only was he handsome, he was also rich and a good background.

She had even planned to create a good show for him, making use of Hailey. She wanted to play the role of a good younger sister so he would see how good and kind she was.

She bit her lips and gripped the hem of her cloth pitifully as she faced Neo. Then, she began to say, "What do you mean by this, Neo? Do you also think any of us took it? How can you doubt your friends like this?"

"This is very unlike you, Neo. You actually suspect us."

When Neo's friend, Jake saw that they were beginning to turn their attention on Neo. He panicked and whispered to Neo. "Don't be like this. It won't be good if they are actually innocent and you accuse them like this."

But, Neo was adamant. He started straight into Ashley's eyes, daring her to prove him wrong. She only accused him of being unsupportive. But, she never explained why they went upstairs.

Ashley shook her head. "I'm so disappointed. I didn't know you were someone like this."

Ashley was good at disguising her words. Her friends were even better at this. They knew when to follow her lead and pour oil into the fire.

Hailey sat quietly watching them pull and push at themselves. It was an extreme dog eat dog situation.

After a few minutes as she continued to watch them wholing at each other, shemassaged her brows tiredly. It was getting boring.

She clapped her palms, successfully attracting their attention towards her. When they turned to her, she gave a small smile as she declared, "Since none of you wants to admit that they were wrong, let's solve this issue quickly. I'll call the cops."