Chapter 23
Edward immediately waved his hands, denying it: "No, she wouldn't have had a chance to touch it. This purple pearl has always been kept by me. No one else has had the opportunity to touch it. There should only be fingerprints from you and me on it."
Charlotte smiled slightly, looking at Mandy's increasingly pale face: "That makes things easier then. Mr. King, please begin."
Mandy visibly started to get nervous.
After five minutes of comparison, Walter immediately placed the lifted fingerprints in front of everyone.
"Based on the comparison of the fingerprint patterns and sizes, there are three different sizes and types of fingerprints here."
"That means three people have touched this purple pearl. I need to do a data comparison, which will take about half an hour."
From the corner of her eye, Charlotte noticed Mandy's body sway.
She said coolly: "If certain people would just admit it themselves, we wouldn't need to waste this half hour. I think she should agree to directly admit what she did, and save everyone's time."
Hearing this, Mandy was grinding her teeth so hard they might break.
She turned her head and stared at Charlotte: "What makes you think I did this?"
Charlotte raised an eyebrow and asked back: "You mean you still won't admit this has anything to do with you?"
"You don't have to admit it, no one's forcing you. But when the results come out in half an hour, I won't let the person who targeted me get away with it."
"If it turns out to be you, regardless of whether you're a young lady of the Harris family, or what kind of relationship you have with Mr. Edward Harris and Mr. Alexander Harris, I won't show any mercy. I'll make this public and ruin your reputation. You'd better think very carefully about whether you want to come forward now."
Mandy's breathing caught, her whole body frozen in place, unable to say a word.
"No, it's impossible, it can't be like this!"
She was so flustered she didn't know what to do, trembling all over, yet still didn't actually admit it.
Mandy suddenly turned her head to look at Walter beside her.
"Are you sure your assessment is accurate? Who knows if you..."
"I've been in this field for over forty years. I've restored hundreds of items from museums, and no one has ever questioned my results."
Walter's eyes held some disdain. "If you don't believe me, we'll let the database fingerprints speak for themselves. If the fingerprints match yours, there'll be nothing left to say, right? You need to own up to what you've done!"
Mandy took two steps back, unable to make a sound.
Alexander looked at her, his eyes sharp: "Apologize."
After his command, Mandy's body stiffened: "I, Alexander, I..."
"I said apologize to Charlotte."
Alexander's tone was cold, with a hint of dominance. "Right now. This isn't up for discussion."
Mandy's eyes instantly reddened.
She bit down hard, feeling both angry and somewhat scared.
In the Harris family, Mandy had never been humiliated like this in public, and had never humbly apologized to anyone in front of others.
Alexander had always taken good care of her. Over these years, she was the only woman he was willing to get along with properly.
But Mandy never expected that today, Alexander would unhesitatingly make her apologize for Charlotte's sake.
She slowly clenched her teeth, unable to say a word, visibly on the verge of breaking down.
Alexander patiently repeated: "Didn't you hear me tell you to apologize? Or do you want to apologize the Miller family way?"
"No, I don't..."
Mandy's eyes reddened as she bit down hard and looked at Charlotte.
She took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the resentment in her heart, and said coldly: "I'm sorry."
Charlotte's expression was indifferent as she raised an eyebrow: "What did you say? Your voice was too soft, I didn't hear clearly."
Mandy swayed even more, her face flushed with anger, not knowing what to do.
She gritted her teeth. "I said, I'm sorry."
Mandy's tone carried suppressed humiliation.
Charlotte said expressionlessly: "Fine. Since things are clear now, I have nothing more to say. What I wanted from the beginning was just the truth and an apology."
Alexander frowned slightly.
"Starting today, Mandy, you're not allowed to come here anymore."
Mandy's face immediately turned ugly.
"Why? I'm Edward's daughter. Why can't I come visit him?"
Alexander's eyes turned cold.
"You broke something precious that Father was giving to someone, and you still want to come visit him? Every time you show up here, you'll remind him that his most treasured purple pearl was cracked by you."
Mandy's lips trembled. She opened her mouth but didn't know how to argue back.
Alexander's tone grew even colder: "Go home and reflect. When you realize your mistake, then you can come back."
Mandy had no choice but to look at Edward beside her.
She thought Edward would soften and speak up for her.
But Edward just sighed and lowered his head, as if he couldn't bear to scold this goddaughter, yet also felt what she did was truly disappointing.
Mandy's whole body trembled slightly. Unable to bear his disappointed look, she turned and left without looking back.
As she left, she deliberately bumped Charlotte's shoulder.
Charlotte stepped back, and her shoulder was immediately steadied by someone.
She turned her head to see Alexander looking at her with a frown, his eyes showing some concern.
"Are you okay?"
Charlotte immediately stepped back, creating distance between them: "I'm fine."
"I'll see you out."
Alexander immediately moved to escort her out.
Charlotte refused without hesitation: "No need, I can manage."
Edward immediately spoke up: "You should let Alexander see you out. I'm sorry about today. We've caused you trouble. It's all my fault for not raising her properly."
"It's fine." Charlotte's tone remained light and breezy, as if none of this affected her emotions in the slightest.
"As long as the matter is cleared up." With that, she walked straight out.
Alexander didn't stay behind and followed her into the elevator.
Charlotte frowned as he followed her in.
Neither of them spoke.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
As the elevator descended floor by floor, Charlotte spoke first: "Mr. Harris, what exactly are you after?"
Alexander paused at her question, then smiled.
"What do you mean by that? Just now, someone from our family offended you. I'm politely seeing you home. What ulterior motive could I have?"
In the enclosed space, Charlotte turned directly to face him, her eyes showing an unprecedented forcefulness.
"This doesn't make sense. She's your sister who's been in the Harris family for twenty years. When something went wrong, you made her apologize."
"Including the engagement party last time, you've helped me twice. We're not related in any way. There's no need for you to do this, so..."
Her eyes held a hint of wariness.
"Alexander, what exactly are you after?"