Chapter 188 Ruby Is Fake; He Is a Liar

Chapter 188 Ruby Is Fake; He Is a Liar

After the banquet ended, Nicholas got into Evan's car. Under Evan's puzzled gaze, he pulled out his phone and played a video.

The video featured Harper and Claire. Because of the distance, there was no audio of their conversation, but their actions were clearly visible.

This footage captured the truth about Claire's fall into the water.

"I saw the two of them in the garden at the time, so I took out my phone and recorded it. I never expected things to turn out like this." There was a hint of disappointment in Nicholas's voice.

Evan took Nicholas's phone, transferred the video to his own device, then handed the phone back. "Why didn't you show this earlier?"

Nicholas turned to look at Evan. "All these years, I've stood firmly by her side. I always thought she was kind and gentle, but who knew..." His voice wavered. "I didn't want her reputation destroyed by my hand..."

Plus, when he'd first witnessed what happened, he couldn't accept it. That's why he hadn't produced the video right away.

Evan fell silent too. Ever since Harper had asked for a divorce, he'd realized Claire wasn't as kind as she appeared. But because Claire was his savior, his heart had always leaned toward her—even when some of his requests on her behalf had been completely unreasonable.

Yet today, Claire's claim that she couldn't swim had stirred something in him. His savior probably wasn't Claire after all.

"You know what? Last time, when the yacht exploded, it was because there were explosives on board. And the person who got me onto that yacht was Claire's bodyguard. The bodyguard was definitely following her orders—he wouldn't have acted on his own..." Nicholas laid out what had happened last time. "And she told me to throw Harper into the ocean..."

By the end, his voice was thick with disillusionment. "Later, when I came back, I asked Claire if she'd wanted to kill me too. Claire said no, said she didn't know about the explosives. She cried so heartbrokenly that I believed her again... I'm such a fool."

Evan hadn't known there was so much more to the story. At the time, he'd wondered why Nicholas had been on the yacht with Harper, and why it had exploded. Now it all made sense.

Evan said nothing, only reached over and patted Nicholas's shoulder in comfort. After Nicholas got out of the car, Evan called his assistant. "I need you to look into something for me..."

Time flew by. A month later, the Turner family held a grand engagement ceremony for Sophie and Ruby. Harper was invited, but this time she offered no warnings.

Shortly after the engagement, news broke from an overseas company: Ruby was a woman.

When Sophie went to confront Ruby, he was nowhere to be found. The night before, they'd had dinner together. The next day, he'd vanished as if he'd never existed.

The phone number he'd left didn't work. His assistant was tracked down, but the man said Ruby had hired him to play a role—he wasn't actually an assistant at all.

The Turners and the Martinezes were in complete panic now, especially the Turners. They'd invested nearly all their available assets with Ruby. If they couldn't find him, the Turner family would be ruined.

They rushed to Ruby's company, only to find the doors locked and the place completely empty. Even the office equipment they'd seen before was gone.

After asking around, they learned the company had been a temporary rental. The renter had already left.

If they'd been investing with anyone else, the Turners and Martinezes would have done thorough due diligence. But because the person claimed to be Ruby, they thought they'd struck gold. They'd invested without proper investigation.

If the Turner family couldn't recover their investment, their cash flow would collapse. The entire company would grind to a halt.

The Martinez family was in slightly better shape. Since Evan hadn't invested, they'd only put in a portion of their funds. The company might face some operational difficulties, but it wouldn't be destroyed.

When the Turner matriarch learned that Ruby was a fraud and all the returns they'd seen were fake, she finally succumbed to the shock and fainted.

Sophie thought about how she'd given up Mason, abandoned years of genuine feelings, only to get engaged to a con artist. She nearly had a breakdown. The Turner family descended into chaos.

Eventually, the Turners and Martinezes remembered to file a police report. The police told them this was a major case, but given the limited information they could provide, whether the money could be recovered—and how much, and how long it would take—was all uncertain. They could only do their best.

Both families left the police station with heavy hearts...

After they'd calmed down, both Claire and Sophie independently thought back to Harper's warnings.

At the time, they'd been so certain the person was Ruby. How had Harper seen through the fraud and warned them not to be deceived?

Did Harper know something they didn't?

Remembering that Harper had attended that academic conference, and that her seniors and peers weren't ordinary people, they wondered if they could get some information from Harper. If they could catch the con artist sooner, they might recover their money.

Claire messaged Harper, asking to meet at a café. Harper thought it over and agreed.

In a private room on the café's second floor, all three women sat down.

Harper studied Claire and Sophie. Claire looked relatively okay—after all, her family hadn't suffered catastrophic damage. She just seemed a bit worn down.

Sophie was different. She looked utterly haggard. Even heavy makeup couldn't hide the dark circles under her eyes. She was completely transformed from the woman at the engagement party.

Claire and Sophie were studying Harper too. Harper looked surprisingly well—a stark contrast to the two of them.

When neither woman spoke, Harper took the initiative. "Claire, you asked me here. What's this about?"

Sophie couldn't wait. "How did you know that man claiming to be Ruby was a fake, and everything he said was a lie?"

Claire chimed in, "You even warned us to be careful not to get scammed. Do you know something we don't? Can you tell us? Both our families lost a lot. We have to find him and get our money back."

Harper paused mid-sip of her coffee, then continued bringing the cup to her lips. After taking a drink, she spoke slowly. "Claire, do you remember? I compensated you with a necklace designed by Ruby."

"I remember. Why? Is there a problem?" Claire was confused. What did that necklace have to do with what they were asking about now? She had no idea why Harper was bringing this up.