Chapter 156: Chapter 156: She Lied
Soon, the two arrived at the neighborhood’s security room.
Although the Hayes family’s neighborhood was old, it still had the basic infrastructure, and there was a surveillance camera right at the door of the unit.
Seeing that the security guard watching the footage was an elderly man, Ashley Shaw worried that mentioning the price of the gift would scare him, so she only said a birthday present was lost.
The guard was very easygoing and immediately adjusted the footage to the approximate time of the loss to help them.
"During this time slot, do you think it’s these two people?" the guard pointed at the screen.
Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant exchanged a glance, then looked at the surveillance screen.
The screen showed the footage of Hailey Hayes after she met Jade Coleman.
The footage was even clearer than Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant anticipated.
Jade Coleman was seen laughing and saying something to Hailey Hayes, then carrying several bags of items up the stairs first.
Hailey Hayes parked her electric scooter a bit to the side.
Just when she swung her other leg over the scooter, the seat of the scooter wobbled slightly.
Hailey Hayes reached out to open the seat and then paused briefly before pulling out an exquisite gift bag from underneath.
The bag was clearly the gift Ashley Shaw prepared for Xavier Quincy.
"That’s her! Hailey Hayes took it!"
Ariana Grant said urgently to Ashley Shaw, "We have solid evidence now, let’s go find her!"
Ashley Shaw warned, "First, let’s agree on this — we need to follow my plan: apologize first, then explain that the gift wasn’t meant for her, but for another friend."
"Got it, got it, I’ve calmed down now. Let’s go quickly before she opens the gift."
Ashley Shaw nodded; opening the gift wasn’t important, she could just go to a gift shop and have it repackaged.
As long as the brooch was intact, she could act like nothing had happened.
"Thank you, sir, we know who took it."
"Do you need my help?" the guard asked kindly.
"No need, no need, we know her, she just took the wrong item."
The guard then nodded, not forgetting to remind them, "Go ahead, and if it’s a mix-up, bring a red envelope, otherwise the other party might feel embarrassed and refuse to admit it."
Ashley Shaw thanked him again. Before going upstairs, she specifically pulled Ariana Grant to the supermarket at the entrance of the neighborhood to buy a case of drinks.
Ariana Grant was quite irritated.
"She took the wrong item, why do we have to apologize and compensate her?"
"That’s how society handles these things."
Ariana Grant laughed and said, "Why do you seem so seasoned with society? You sound just like the security guard."
"Didn’t I have more work experience than you?" Ashley Shaw felt somewhat guilty and diverted her gaze, saying, "Come on! Stop complaining, getting back the gift for Leo is the most important thing."
"True!"
The two didn’t delay any longer and headed upstairs immediately.
Ashley Shaw first warned Ariana Grant to let her handle it and when Ariana Grant nodded in agreement, she reached out and rang the doorbell.
Footsteps were quickly heard inside.
In the next moment, the door opened.
Standing in front of Ashley Shaw was Assistant Lowell.
Seeing Ashley Shaw, Mark looked completely surprised.
"Miss Shaw? How come you’re back?"
He thought Damian Ford had come.
"I... need to talk to Hailey Hayes about something."
Assistant Lowell’s face showed even more surprise, "Do you have something to discuss with her?"
Ashley Shaw was unsure how to tell Assistant Lowell, just as Hailey Hayes and Kevin Hayes appeared at the door, both with darkened faces.
Hailey Hayes’s tone wasn’t friendly, and she asked directly, "Do you want me to apologize to you?"
"Hailey!" Mark warned with a stern look at Hailey Hayes.
Ariana Grant was also angry and was about to speak when Ashley Shaw grabbed her hand.
The words she was about to say were forced back down her throat.
"It’s all right."
Ashley Shaw shot a smile at Assistant Lowell, then said to Hailey Hayes, "You misunderstood, that matter is over, you meant well by saying that, why would I ask you to apologize to me, right?"
Hailey Hayes’s expression softened a bit.
Luckily Ashley Shaw was sensible, or else she would’ve argued with her.
She had figured it out, it didn’t concern her what Cousin Lowell’s job was.
Even if Ashley Shaw got really upset and Cousin Lowell lost his job, she and her father wouldn’t lose anything.
If worst came to worst, they’d just have a falling-out with her aunt’s family!
But Ashley Shaw’s attitude was really nice, which makes Hailey Hayes not want to lose her temper.
She stiffly asked, "If it’s not about that matter, why did you come to find me?"
Ashley Shaw maintained her smile.
She first placed the drinks she was holding at the Hayes family’s doorstep, then said, "It’s like this, we went home just now and realized that the gift I bought for my friend seems to have been mistakenly taken by you."
"Gift?"
Hailey Hayes furrowed her brows, thinking to herself whether she really took something by mistake.
But after thinking carefully, she didn’t take any gift wrongly.
Ashley Shaw said, "It’s a man’s brooch made entirely of diamonds, from VanCleef&Arpels, and the packaging bag is from The Apex Mall."
Hailey Hayes’s heart suddenly tightened.
She suddenly remembered the gift box she opened in the bathroom, its outer packaging did have The Apex Mall’s logo.
So, the gift wasn’t meant for her?
But... she had already thrown the brooch into the trash can, and the "big crystal" on the brooch was accidentally pried off and flushed down the toilet into the sewer.
More chilling for Hailey Hayes was Ashley Shaw mentioning "entirely diamond" and "VanCleef&Arpels."
Either of the two words implied a price she couldn’t afford.
And if that "big crystal" wasn’t just a crystal, but a diamond?
A diamond over three carats... how much could that be worth?
Hailey Hayes couldn’t help but feel a chill running down her back.
However, on the surface, she tried to maintain her initial puzzled expression.
She shook her head and said, "Sorry, I haven’t seen any bag from The Apex Mall. Why don’t you think about it, maybe you misplaced it, or maybe you took it home and thought you didn’t?"
Ashley Shaw glanced deeply at Hailey Hayes.
Hailey Hayes believed she was very well-disguised, but Ashley Shaw clearly caught a flicker of panic in Hailey Hayes’s eyes.
Even though the panic was quickly concealed, Ashley Shaw keenly detected it.
Hailey Hayes was lying.
She refused to admit she took the gift.
Ashley Shaw’s gaze slowly faded, but she still maintained patience and didn’t expose it directly, instead saying in a roundabout way, "We did look for it, and after thinking carefully, it must have been left in your place. Could you help us look for it? If you find it, I’ll treat you to a meal to thank you later."
She was still planning to give Hailey Hayes one last chance.
After all, if it escalated, Assistant Lowell’s reputation wouldn’t be spared.