Trash Groom, Stolen Gown

I handed the bracelet to the police, and they quickly located the chip inside the dress.

A scan revealed the identity information. The dress was mine, clear as day.

"Miss Huxley—or should I say Miss Smith—do you see this? This wedding dress belongs to the Vance family. It is the personal property of Sheila Vance. This gown is worth 1 million dollars. You've ruined it with your alterations, and you will be held fully responsible for all losses!"

Lisa froze.

All this time she'd been altering the dress, and she hadn't even noticed the chip hidden inside. The boutique manager was even paler, wiping cold sweat from his face as panic set in.

But Lisa still wouldn't admit defeat.

"It's a lie! She wanted to steal my dress. She planted the chip in there! If not, how come the boutique staff never found it after all their alterations? She came, and suddenly it's here—there's clearly something suspicious!"

The manager, terrified of offending anyone but afraid of being implicated himself, quickly sided with Lisa.

"That's right. This must be some trick she's playing! Miss Vance has been abroad all these years and never said she'd return. Yet Miss Huxley was brought here several times by Mr. Huxley himself!

"Officer, our shop has surveillance cameras. We can prove that Mr. Huxley and Miss Huxley are a pair—and that she did indeed come to see the dress."

He even handed over the footage voluntarily.

I could only laugh at their stupidity. Let them check the recordings to see if I'd done anything.

Of course, the manager, trying to be clever, said today, the cameras were broken.

In the end, due to the high value of the gown, we were all taken to the police station.

With my parents abroad, I called the housekeeper to pick me up.

Lisa, meanwhile, called Alistair.

By this point, Alistair didn't dare show his face. He sent his assistant, Mabel Morris, instead.

Mabel bowed as soon as she saw me, apologizing profusely.

"Miss Vance, I'm terribly sorry for the trouble!"

"Where's Alistair?"

"Mr. Huxley is busy. The company has many projects, and he truly can't leave, so he asked me to handle this."

I sneered. "Do you think I'm letting this woman get away?"

Mabel quickly dialed Alistair and handed me the phone.

"Miss Vance, Mr. Huxley wants to speak with you."

Curious about his attitude, I pressed the speakerphone.

The moment he spoke, I could practically smell his arrogance through the line.

"Sheila, can you stop making a scene? Lisa is a poor student we sponsor. If the world sees our company bullying a little girl, what kind of reputation would that give us?

"You're about to marry into our family. Shouldn't you prioritize our interests? Come back immediately. It's just a dress. Why drag this all the way to the police station?

"You've been completely out of control abroad. Once you join our family, you'll need to adjust your temper properly."

I laughed in disbelief. After all these years, I hadn't truly seen Alistair's real face.

"Alistair, what the fuck are you saying?!"

He froze the moment I snapped at him. If he were smart, he would know that between us, I was the one in control.

But years of playing president of a company had clearly rotted his brain.

"Sheila," he said, voice hardening, "is this how you speak to the head of a household? Shame on your upbringing. Looks like you'll need a little pre-marriage training!"