Chapter 22
The staff immediately pulled up the security footage.
The video showed that just a few seconds after Charlotte entered the restroom with the box, a figure followed right behind her.
That person was clearly Mandy.
Seeing this, everyone looked at Mandy in surprise.
Mandy's expression stiffened slightly as she swallowed. "Why are you all looking at me like that? I did go into the restroom, but I didn't do this!"
She looked somewhat wronged as she spoke. "You're not suspecting me just because of this, are you?"
In the surveillance footage, it had already reached the part where Mandy came back out of the restroom.
She looked left and right, clearly on guard against something, then quickly disappeared into a blind spot in the hallway. Her steps were much faster than her normal walking pace, as if she was afraid someone would notice.
Two seconds after she disappeared from view, Charlotte came out into the hallway.
She looked around, didn't see anyone, and thoughtfully went back into the restroom.
"This is the complete security footage."
Charlotte crossed her arms expressionlessly, looking at Mandy with cold, mocking eyes.
"What? Ms. Miller, are you saying this has nothing to do with you? No one else went into the restroom before or after, just you. If you didn't do it, who else could have?"
These words made Mandy's face look even worse.
She said without hesitation, "Well, I still didn't do it! This only proves I went into the restroom. Did the surveillance catch me doing anything? Did it catch me personally throwing the purple pearl on the floor? Why does my being in the restroom mean I did it?"
Mandy argued forcefully, her face flushed with emotion.
After hearing this, everyone frowned and said nothing.
What she said seemed to make some sense.
Seeing this, Mandy's expression grew even worse.
She looked at Alexander pleadingly. "Alexander, say something. You don't suspect me too, do you?"
Alexander didn't answer, just glanced at her with completely emotionless eyes.
Mandy's heart sank.
In all her years with the Harris family, what she feared most was Alexander not liking her, not being able to make a good impression on him.
The way Alexander just looked at her clearly showed he didn't believe her.
Mandy bit down hard, and before she could say anything more, Charlotte spoke up.
"You're the only person who went in and out of the restroom. I believe everyone here knows what's going on."
After speaking, she looked at Edward.
Edward slowly frowned.
Seeing that Edward seemed to believe what Charlotte was saying, Mandy became even more anxious.
"I've been with the Harris family for twenty years. Are you really not going to trust me and instead trust an outsider? Why would I break the purple pearl? It's the thing you value most—how could I possibly do such a thing?"
Edward frowned deeply, looking very conflicted.
"Don't believe her! I know this is your most treasured possession. I would never do such a thing!" Mandy rushed over, trying to explain further.
Suddenly, Alexander spoke. "Enough."
His tone was filled with faint impatience.
Mandy bit her lip hard, tears streaming down her face, looking completely wronged.
The other two people present saw this and showed some sympathy in their eyes.
"I don't think Mandy did this. We all know how much she respects Edward."
"Right. Mandy has always cared about what Edward cares about most. She would never do anything harmful or disruptive. There must be some misunderstanding."
Hearing this, Charlotte glanced at Mandy with mocking eyes.
"I don't want to wrongly accuse anyone, so I won't just pin this on Mandy without proof."
"Since she says there's no evidence proving she did this, I'll put the evidence right in front of you all."
At these words, everyone looked at each other, not understanding what she meant.
Edward looked at Mandy and said seriously, "If you can find out who really did this, I won't let them off."
Charlotte nodded slightly and took out her phone to make a call. "Are you here yet?"
"Almost there," the person on the other end replied.
Charlotte looked up at everyone. "We're waiting for someone. Just five minutes."
Everyone looked at each other.
Mandy's eyes flickered, not understanding what was going on.
Five minutes later, an elderly man with white hair but sharp eyes and a very alert manner walked right in.
He looked strong and healthy, and walked very lightly.
When he arrived, the others didn't react much.
But Edward suddenly sat up straight, staring at him with some excitement.
"You... it's you!" Edward exclaimed. "Mr. Walter King! What brings you here?"
"Hello, Mr. Edward Harris." Walter nodded. "I came today at Ms. Johnson's invitation. She said there was a tricky matter to handle here. I didn't expect it would involve you."
Edward nodded with a smile. "Yes, thank you for coming, Mr. King."
Mandy listened from the side, momentarily stunned.
She asked hesitantly, "What's going on? Father, do you know this Mr. King?"
"Yes, he's a jewelry restoration master. I have so many jewelry pieces in my collection, so over time we've had many dealings. Every year I have his apprentice handle the jewelry maintenance. I didn't expect him to come in person today."
Edward held Walter's hand, his eyes full of admiration.
Charlotte stepped forward, briefly interrupting their conversation.
"The reason I asked Mr. King to come today is simple—to have him check who has touched this purple pearl in my hand."
Mandy paused, then blurted out, "Can something like that even be determined?"
Charlotte glanced at her and said coolly, "Of course. Let Mr. King explain."
Walter immediately said, "The purple pearl looks very smooth on the surface, but it's actually the easiest to retain fingerprint traces. I have a secret technique that can extract fingerprints from any jewelry for comparison."
"I also have a large fingerprint database that can be accessed immediately. I've helped many authorities solve cases with this, and I'm even hired as a private investigator by them."
"As long as we check who has touched this purple pearl, we can naturally find out the real reason why it cracked."
Charlotte nodded slightly and looked at Edward.
"Has Ms. Miller had any opportunity to touch this item?"