Chapter 221
The slap came down with a whoosh.
Lucinda's right hand lifted. Her fingers lightly closed around Gemma's wrist and pulled it to the side.
The force threw Gemma off balance. She stumbled and fell sideways.
The antiques hall went silent for a moment.
Gemma clutched her lower back, gasping in pain. Tears filled her eyes, but she kept cursing. "You… you dare hit me! Ungrateful wretch! You'll come to a bad end!"
Lucinda withdrew her hand, glanced down at her fingertips, and said flatly, "Unfortunately, even if your whole family ganged up on me, you still couldn't touch a hair on my head."
Gemma trembled with rage. She turned to Marshall. "Marshall! You're Allegra's fiancé—say something! She's your future wife! Look what this bitch has done to her! You're a man—are you just going to stand there and watch?"
Marshall stood in place, his brow furrowed tightly.
He glanced at Gemma, then at Allegra. No matter what, he couldn't suppress the irritation rising in his chest.
"Mrs. Wipere, that's enough."
His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet exhibition hall, it rang out clearly. "You know the truth. She knows the truth. She broke the necklace. The surveillance caught it all. The store asking for compensation is completely reasonable. If this keeps going, whose face is going to be lost?"
Gemma froze, her mouth hanging open for a long moment.
Allegra's expression changed too. Tears still clung to her lashes, but panic was already setting in.
"Marshall…" She hurried over to him, grabbing his sleeve. "Marshall, don't be angry. I know I was wrong! I was just so panicked that I said those things. You have to believe me—I really didn't mean to…"
She lifted her head, eyes red-rimmed, her voice softening further. "I've given myself to you completely. You're all I have. The mistakes I made—I made them because I was afraid of losing you. I was afraid Lucinda would steal you away, afraid you'd leave me. That's why I… why I got so confused…"
Marshall looked down at her, his fingers tightening slightly.
This woman, no matter what, was already his woman.
He'd slept with her. He'd publicly acknowledged their engagement in front of everyone. If he turned his back on her now, what would people say?
He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, his voice had lowered. "Fifty-one million dollars. I'll pay it. This ends here."
Allegra's tears surged even harder. She threw herself into his arms, soaking the front of his shirt. "Marshall… thank you… I knew you wouldn't abandon me…"
Marshall didn't hug her back. He just raised a hand and patted her shoulder lightly, his gaze drifting over her head toward Lucinda.
Gemma, clutching her waist, got up from the floor. Seeing Marshall take on the compensation voluntarily, her expression shifted from grievance to smugness.
She lowered her voice to Allegra. "See? I told you Marshall cares about you. Hold onto him tight. Don't let that bitch worm her way in."
Allegra kept her head down, the corner of her mouth curving slightly. But she quickly suppressed it, replacing it with an even more obedient expression. "I know, Mom."
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from outside. A dozen people walked in briskly—the mall's general manager, deputy general manager, and the head of the antiques hall.
The procession was impressive. The onlookers immediately began whispering.
"The managers are here."
"So many of them at once. This must be a big deal."
Marshall regained some of his confidence. He looked up and saw the group approaching.
The man leading them wore a custom-tailored charcoal suit with a silver badge pinned to his lapel. It was Eugene Bailey, one of the mall's major shareholders.
Known in the business world for his sharp eye, Eugene rarely made public appearances. When he did, it meant something significant was happening.
Marshall's eyes lit up. He immediately stepped forward, plastering on a perfectly calibrated smile. "Mr. Bailey! Hello, I'm Marshall from the Grayson family. I've long admired you. It's an honor to meet you here on your turf today."
He extended his hand, his posture deliberately humble.
Eugene glanced down at the outstretched hand. He didn't spare Marshall even a second glance. Without stopping, he walked right past him.
Marshall's hand hung suspended in midair. The smile on his face froze.
He turned his head, following Eugene's trajectory, and his pupils constricted sharply.
Eugene stopped in front of Lucinda, bowed slightly, and spoke with unprecedented respect. "Ms. L, why didn't you let us know you were coming? I could have had everything you wanted prepared in advance."
The antiques hall fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Allegra's mouth fell open slightly, as if someone had grabbed her by the throat. Her expression shifted from smug satisfaction to blank shock.
Gemma's hand, still clutching her waist, trembled. She had to lean against a nearby counter to stay upright.
Preston stood a few steps away, his gaze locked on Lucinda. He couldn't get a single word out.
"Ms. L?"
His voice shook. "Lucinda… is Ms. L?"
Lucinda leaned against the doorframe, slipping her phone back into her pocket. She glanced at him once but didn't answer.
That silence was more chilling than any denial.
Eugene stood beside her, asking no further questions. He simply turned to a nearby staff member. "Are the items Ms. L requested wrapped up?"
The staff member nodded quickly. "Everything's been sorted. Per Ms. L's previous instructions, they've all been stored separately."
Eugene acknowledged this, then turned back to Lucinda, his tone still respectful. "Ms. L, we've acquired a few new pieces today. Would you like to take a look?"
Lucinda nodded. "Sure."
Her voice was calm, as if she hadn't noticed the several pairs of eyes boring into her back.
Eugene stepped aside slightly, gesturing for her to proceed.
Then he turned his head, as if suddenly remembering something. His gaze swept coolly over the Wipere family members, his tone indifferent as he added, "By the way, those projects the Wipere family took on back then—they only succeeded because Ms. L was backing you behind the scenes. Without Ms. L, the Wipere family wouldn't have even gotten a foot in the door with those partners."
He paused. "After Ms. L stopped working with the Wipere family, those projects failed one after another. Mr. Wipere, you should know that better than anyone."
Preston's entire body shook violently. His face turned ashen in an instant.
He remembered those years when the Wipere family had been riding high—projects closing one after another, the cash flow never once running into trouble.
He'd always thought it was the Wipere family's own strength. He'd believed it was his own skillful management. It had never occurred to him that someone had been propping them up from behind the entire time.
And that person… was Lucinda.
He lifted his head, staring at the slender figure at the far end of the corridor. His lips trembled several times, but he couldn't get a single word out.
Gemma snapped back to reality as well. Her expression instantly shifted from shock to ingratiating flattery.
She released Allegra's arm and hurried after Lucinda, her expression changing faster than flipping through a book.