Chapter 528
If she stole it, Adrian would notice by tomorrow morning. What could she do?
Mara racked her brain all morning until she finally hatched a scheme: she would commission a flawless replica and swap them out.
Without wasting a second, she took dozens of high-resolution photos of the jade sculpture and slinked off to a discreet, rundown pawnshop on the edge of town. Mira was in her office, ruthlessly manipulating the Porter stock, when Lenny called. “Boss, Mara took photos of The Mercer Griffin to one of our pawnshops. She asked if we could forge a replica p>
The pawnshop belonged to Master Ellis’s underground network.
Mira vividly remembered the grand heirloom sitting in her former living room. “Send me the pictures p>
It was definitely the Mercer family’s prized possession.
“Tell the shop manager to take the job and rush the order,” Mira instructed. “But only offer her twelve thousand dollars for the authentic piece p>
Master Ellis deliberately kept this particular shop’s ownership hidden, operating in the shadows to handle illicit transactions without drawing heat.
The city’s three premier pawnshops were located in the bustling commercial district -owned by the Rivers, Porter, and Ward families, respectively. Mara was too cowardly to risk exposing herself there.
Master Ellis’s forgery team was exceptionally skilled. By the next day, they had produced a stunningly accurate replica of the Griffin.
Or rather, it wasn’t built from scratch-the master craftsman took a pre-existing resin replica and heavily modified it overnight. The total cost of materials and labor was less than five hundred dollars.
The authentic Mercer Griffin was valued at over sixty thousand dollars.
Mara happily walked away with her twelve thousand dollars and immediately contacted Roxanne to purchase the poison.
That evening, before dinner, Adrian was sitting in the living room when his eyes locked onto the Griffin display.
“Why does this look so shiny?” Adrian muttered, his brow furrowing as he looked at Fiona and Mara.
“I polished it this afternoon,” Mara lied smoothly.
But Adrian’s paranoia had kept him alive this long. He picked up the sculpture to inspect it.
“Why does it feel lighter?” he muttered, his suspicion deepening.
The empire was gone; this house and its antiques were his final safety net. If things got truly desperate, he planned to sell them to keep a roof over their heads.
“It’s all in your head,” Fiona instinctively deflected, trying to protect Mara. She had a sinking feeling her daughter was behind this. God, this girl was exhausting.
Her priority was to pacify Adrian now and interrogate Mara later.
But Adrian wasn’t easily deterred. He carried the Griffin over to a bright floor lamp, inspecting the intricate carvings under the harsh light.
Fiona and Mara’s hearts slammed against their ribs.
What if he realized it was fake?
Mara knew exactly how vicious Adrian could be when his money was threatened. If he found out she stole it, he would beat her half to death.
Panic surging, Mara’s hand drifted toward a heavy glass ashtray resting on the coffee table. She gripped it, taking a slow, silent step toward Adrian’s back.
Fiona caught the movement out of
the corner of her eye. Horrified, she lunged forward, snatching the ashtray from Marais hand and hissingin her ear, “Keep your head down! You want to go to prison for murder p>
The words snapped Mara back to reality. Murder was a terrible investment. Adrian was an old man with one foot in the grave, and she had her
was only eighteen. She had h
whole life ahead of her.
But what if he caught her?
Seeing Mara trembling like a leaf, Fiona leaned in again. “Just wait Don’t do anything stupid.” She had instinctively realized her treacherous daughter was entirely responsible for this mess.