Chapter 302
Chapter 302:
Feigning composure, Abram clenched his teeth and seethed with indignation. “What exactly are you implying? Did you have me wait merely to fabricate a charge against me?”
Ashton, with deliberate calmness, lifted his phone and declared, “According to criminal law, any fraudulent activity exceeding three thousand dollars is subject to legal prosecution. You have deceitfully acquired one hundred and fifty thousand dollars from us. This is not a trivial offense, is it?”
Abram’s fury ignited immediately.
He bellowed, “This is outrageous! Isn’t this check meant as your compensation? Now you’re twisting things around to accuse me? I see through your scheme—you’re stalling and preparing to bribe the authorities to have me arrested, aren’t you? Everyone present witnessed the whole incident. Don’t think you can falsely accuse me.”
He then addressed the onlookers. “Witnesses of this incident, stand by me and ensure these fraudsters do not manipulate the situation!”
The crowd roared with collective outrage, their anger palpable and their readiness to confront Ashton unmistakable.
A cold glint flashed across Ashton’s eyes as he icily remarked, “You remain obstinate, do you? Let me elucidate the situation more comprehensively!”
With a commanding gesture, Ashton signaled to Rosalie. Comprehending her role, Rosalie removed the red cloth draped over the raffle box.
To everyone’s astonishment, the container that held the raffle balls was revealed to be the very antique vase Abram had recently delivered.
The moment Abram’s eyes fell upon the antique vase beneath the red cloth, a chilling premonition swept through him. Before he could muster a response, Ashton confronted him with a frosty challenge.
“If I’m not mistaken, you’ve asserted that your health troubles began only after you came into contact with this antique. Is that correct? If that’s the case, how is it that you remain unaffected after handling it again just now, after all this time? Would you care to elucidate?”
gⲁ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀.𝗰𝗈𝗺 – 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝖘𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝗶𝗻
Abram had been on the verge of arguing that the effects required time to manifest, but Ashton, having foreseen such a rebuttal, had swiftly cut him off.
It was at this juncture that Abram realized Ashton had been biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to corner him. Panic seized Abram, causing his words to falter as he scrambled for a defense.
“How would I know? Perhaps you sanitized the vase upon taking it back, effectively eradicating any harmful agents? Yes, that must be it! You must have tampered with the vase. I wouldn’t put it past you to replace the original with a high-quality imitation you prepared!”
Among the gathered onlookers, Abram’s theory garnered a wave of sympathy, not least because many were stooges planted by Beal to muddle the truth.
Ashton, ever perceptive, sensed the undercurrents of deception. Yet, Ashton was steps ahead, a subtle smile playing on his lips as he summoned the security personnel of Skyline Group with a casual flick of his hand.
“Show everyone what I had you prepare.”
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