Freya handed the earrings to the salesperson and said, "Could you please wrap these up for me? I'll take them." Then, she walked over to Jinny and took the coat from her hands, smiling, "You two take your time, I have something else to attend to."

"Wait." Jinny called out to her, "Aunt Freya, you have a good taste. Can you tell me if these earrings look good?"

With a disdainful smile, Freya replied, "I'm just a low peasant, I don't know how to judge these things." With that, she was about to leave.

At that moment, a startled cry came from one of the salespersons, "Where's the jade bangle? It's gone!"

Hearing this, the salespeople began to panic and search frantically. The jade bangle was their store's most-treasured collection, worth millions. Losing it would be a massive blow to them.

Standing next to Jinny, Lola smirked maliciously. She wanted to see how Freya would explain this. If caught red-handed, it would be a huge scandal, and the stocks of the Austin Corporation and the Lawson Group would plummet.

As the salespeople searched, they couldn't find the bracelet anywhere. Jinny, taking advantage of the situation, commented sarcastically, "Maybe someone stole it. After all, this is our most-treasured collection."

The insinuation was clear, especially since she glanced at Freya while saying it.

Joining in, Lola added fuel to the fire, "Freya, you always liked to snatch things from me when we were young. Maybe the piece caught your eye."

"Indeed, I heard that people from the countryside aren't very truthful, even if they've risen to prominence now, that habit sticks with them for life." Lola remarked, subtly insinuating that Freya was the thief.

Without any hesitation, Freya responded, "If you think I took it, you may search me."

The salespeople hesitated, not wanting to offend Freya, especially since she was the wife of the CEO. However, they had no other choice. Losing such expensive jewellery would be a huge liability for them.

Seeing the hesitation of the salespeople, Freya waved her hand dismissively. "Go ahead. It's fine," she said.

With her permission, the salespeople cautiously approached her. "Madam, we apologise for the inconvenience." One of them said respectfully.

There wasn't much to search on her person, and it was obvious whether she was hiding something. After checking her handbag and finding nothing, they focused on the coat she had handed over.

Jinny and Lola were eagerly anticipating the spectacle, confident that the jade bangle was hidden inside the coat. Once they searched the coat, Freya would be exposed.

Lola even contemplated taking photos to post online.

As the salesperson reached into the coat pocket, they found it empty. With a look of apology, they turned to Freya. "Apologies, madam. The bracelet is indeed not on you. Please forgive us for the inconvenience."

Freya waved off the apology, then glanced at the pale faces opposite her, shrugging casually. "Well, since there are only a few of us here, let's just search everyone."

The salespeople started searching each other, but to no avail.

Now, only Lola and Jinny remained on the scene.

Jinny looked at the suspicious gaze of the salesperson, hands on hips. "What's going on? You don't suspect me of stealing, do you?"

"You'll only know after searching." Freya said, raising an eyebrow and sitting in the chair, tapping her nails.

Without hesitation, the salesperson approached both of them, politely saying, "Miss Austin, Miss Lawson, please cooperate with the search. Otherwise, we'll have to check the surveillance footage. If we find evidence of theft, we'll have to involve the police."

Jinny firmly believed the jade bangle wasn't on her, snorting. "Go ahead and search. A clear conscience fears no accusation."

Lola, feeling somewhat uneasy, said, "I don't mind."

She couldn't understand. She had hidden the bracelet in Freya's coat pocket. Why wasn't it there?

With these thoughts, she glanced at Freya, only to see her disdainfully smiling, as if mocking a clown.

This made Lola even more uneasy, feeling like she was walking into a trap again. After all the times she had been outsmarted by Freya, she had realised one thing: whenever Freya smiled like that, trouble was sure to follow.

Feeling a shiver down her spine, Lola was about to make an excuse to leave when the salesperson pre-emptively pulled out a bracelet from her bag. It was the missing jade bangle.

Then, another salesperson found a pair of earrings on Jinny, the same set Freya had worn earlier, the 'Eternal Love' collection by Vivian.

"Miss Austin, Miss Lawson, how do you explain this?" The salesperson glanced at the two with disdain before turning to Freya. "Madam, these two not only stole the jade bangle from the store but also your earrings. How would you like to handle this matter?"

With a smirk, Freya replied, "You said it yourselves earlier, if there's theft, report it to the police. Am I mistaken?"

Lola froze in place. This couldn't be happening. She was so sure she had hidden the jade bangle in Freya's coat pocket.

Jinny's expression was equally grim. She hadn't even touched Freya's earrings, yet they had somehow ended up on her. She had no idea what was going on.

"Then let's send them to the police as the madam said."

Just then, a deep, melodious male voice rang out from behind. Everyone turned to see Bradley standing at the doorway, hands in his pockets, exuding an aura of dominance and coldness.

The salespeople quickly greeted him, "Mr. Austin."

Bradley nodded and walked in, his eyes sharp as they landed on Freya. Without a hint of emotion, he asked, "Are you alright?"

Surprised by his sudden appearance, Freya asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Harry was nearby attending to some business when he saw someone suspiciously following you. I came to check on you." he explained casually, then turned his sharp gaze towards Lola and Jinny.

His face was expressionless.