Chapter 24: Ten Years In Prison

“How did you know that stone wouldn't yield anything good?” Ross had known since Zoe's stone showed poor quality that it was worthless, but he was curious about how Emma knew.

"It's obvious," Emma replied calmly, "That stone didn't have anything inside to begin with."

Ross raised an eyebrow slightly, while Zoe was furious. She walked up and placed Emma’s stone on the table."Boss, cut this one for me."

The stone was already split in two, and there was no vibrant color.

The boss shook his head. "No need to cut it. It's a waste of labor. This is just a worthless stone."

He needed to be paid to cut the stones.

Zoe felt slightly better. She hadn't managed to attract Ross's attention, so she didn’t want Emma to fare any better.

"Cut it. I'll pay for it. Cut it where I marked," Emma said, marking a spot with her black pen.

The boss saw no reason to turn down money and immediately operated the machinery to make the cut.

With just one cut, everyone nearby gasped. They saw imperial green once again. And this time, it was even more transparent and radiant.

One said, "Miss, you're really lucky! You found a top-quality imperial green in the worst stone. "I bid one million!"

Another person said, "Two million! Miss, let me have it. This jade is probably only a thin layer, cutting further would be a loss."

Ross advised, "That's enough. Two million is not a loss."

Emma shook her head and marked another spot with her pen. "Keep cutting."

The boss's hands trembled slightly as he operated the machine.

Gambling stones was a risky game with each cut, and finding such top-quality imperial green was rare.

With one more cut, the stone still revealed a full piece of imperial green. The color was even more translucent and radiant.

A person said, "Wow, I bid 20 million! I want it!"

Another person said, "Miss, 24 million. How about it?"

Ross furrowed his brow slightly and whispered to Emma, "Leave this piece for James. I'll bid 60 million."

"No need. It was meant for him anyway," Emma replied calmly, directing the boss to continue cutting. A fist-sized piece of imperial green jade gradually appeared.

Zoe felt sour inside and promptly reached out to take the other half of the stone that Emma had broken.

"Emma, can you sell this piece to me at a low price? I'll give you 10 thousand. You only spent 10 thousand on this stone anyway."

Emma looked at her with a fake smile.

Half of the stone yielding imperial green meant that the other half would have a high chance of yielding imperial green as well. Selling it for 10 thousand would clearly be a great deal for Zoe.

Someone nearby couldn't stand it and spoke up, "I bid 1 million."

Another person said, "1.2 million."

Someone else said, "1.4 million!"

This time, the bidding wasn't as high as before, since the stone hadn't been opened yet, but the prices were still quite high.

Zoe was getting anxious and gave Emma a pleading look. "Emma, I wanted to give this piece of jade to Mom and Dad. You're their daughter too. Mom doesn't have a bracelet made of top-quality imperial green. Don't you want to give her one?"

Emma said, "No."

Zoe immediately turned to Ross with pleading eyes. "Mr. Ross, can you help me persuade Emma? I just want to improve the relationship in our family. My brother told me that Emma has always been stubborn since childhood and often opposes Mom and Dad. Now that Emma has finally been found, Mom and Dad want to reconcile with her, but she's still like this..."

Ross spoke indifferently. "It's none of my business."

Zoe was taken aback when she realized that Ross didn't intervene at all.

However, she assumed that Ross must have formed an even worse impression of Emma due to her cold demeanor.

Emma had the remaining half of the stone cut. Although the quality of the jade revealed this time was slightly inferior, it was still imperial green, about the size of half a fist. Ross's stones also yielded several pieces of good jade, resulting in a small profit.

Emma called Linda and waited by the roadside for a ride. A black Maybach slowly pulled up beside her, and the window of the passenger seat automatically lowered, revealing Ross's gentle face with a hint of complex emotions in his eyes.

"Get in," he said.

Emma declined. "No need. My friend will be here to pick me up soon."

"You just returned to Gontan. Where did you find a friend?" Ross furrowed his brow, showing signs of impatience.

"Please get in. I'll take you to a place where you can have the jade processed. I know several good craftsmen," he insisted.

Emma understood. It seemed that he was afraid she wouldn't give the jade to James.

"No need. I can carve it myself," Emma replied.

Initially skeptical, Ross then believed her given her skill in identifying jade.

"Alright, I hope you keep your word," he said.

The window rolled up again, and the car quickly departed. Linda's car arrived shortly afterward.

As soon as she got in the car, Emma received a call from her mother.

After the wedding, Emma had considered blocking everyone from her family, but she didn't want to let them off that easily now that her impression of them was so bad.

Emma narrowed her eyes slightly and answered the call.

"Emma, I heard from Zoe that you found two very good pieces of jade. Bring the jade back to the Smith family," her mother demanded.

Emma wasn't surprised at all. "That's impossible."

"Alright," Karla said in a softer tone. "I'll allow you to keep one piece of jade, but you can't imagine the value of imperial green. You can't decide on your own. You have to give us one piece."

"I'll give one piece to James, and the other will be displayed at home," Emma said lazily.

"Displayed? It's better to give it to our family!" Karla exclaimed angrily.

Emma replied indifferently, "Of course, it's rare to be so lucky. Naturally, I want to keep a memento."

Linda, who was driving, could vaguely hear their conversation and struggled to hold back her laughter.

After all, Emma's skill in gambling stones was top-notch. The stones she picked were definitely high-quality, and there was no need for her to keep a memento.

She just didn't want to give anything to the Smith family.

"Let me tell you, give us the jade quickly, and make sure the Anderson family finds a way to get Austin out. Otherwise, I won't let you off! You're such a jinx, ugly, disrespectful, ungrateful. If I had known, I would have strangled you when you were born!" Karla cursed viciously over the phone, and Emma's eyes turned cold.

"Wanna get Austin out? That's easy. Just make sure Zoe gets sentenced to ten years in prison," Emma retorted.

"Emma!" The middle-aged woman on the other end yelled sharply, and Emma hung up the call.

She thought, ‘This year is going to be quite interesting.’

Back at James's residence, Emma had brought her carving tools with her luggage, her master, Manfred, had taught her this skill.

She contemplated carving a small dragon for James. Dragons were auspicious creatures, and with just a few strokes, the shape of a dragon was already taking form.

Before she knew it, the sky outside had darkened. Emma was almost done with the carving when she suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. The carving in her hand seemed familiar, like something she had done before.

Lost in thought, she applied too much force with her carving knife, and a drop of blood oozed from her fingertip, causing a sharp pain.

Emma was accustomed to enduring pain. She reached for the medical kit to apply some ointment when she heard the sound of the front door opening downstairs.

She thought that it was probably James returning.