Chapter 63

Evelyn arched an eyebrow with mocking amusement as she stepped closer to Vanessa. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Go ahead, dial the police. I'm waiting."

Vanessa's palms turned clammy, her fingers trembling around her phone. Her mind raced for an escape that didn't exist.

"Puzzled about how my diamond bracelet miraculously appeared in your purse?" Evelyn's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Vanessa's breath hitched. "I don't know what you're implying."

"Did you honestly believe I wouldn't catch you slipping that into my bag?" Evelyn's sudden sharp tone made several shoppers turn their heads.

Unbeknownst to Vanessa, Evelyn had witnessed the entire theft reflected in a nearby mirror. The moment Vanessa's back was turned, Evelyn had returned the favor by placing the bracelet back where it belonged - in the thief's own designer handbag.

Olivia gasped dramatically. "Oh Vanessa, they ought to rename you Vanessa the Villain! What possessed you to try this again?"

"Clearly prison didn't teach you anything last time. Allow me to give you the lesson your family failed to provide," Evelyn declared.

Turning to the store associates, she commanded, "Call security. Now!"

"No! Please don't!" Vanessa lunged at the employees, physically blocking them from reaching the phone.

Fate intervened when Nathan's call flashed on her screen. "Nathan! Help me!" she sobbed into the phone. "They're trying to have me arrested!"

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Listen to her waterworks. As if she's not the criminal here."

Nathan arrived within minutes, his imposing frame cutting through the crowd. The scene before him - Evelyn and Olivia restraining his hysterical sister - made his jaw tighten.

"Nathan! They're attacking me!" Vanessa pointed an accusatory finger, tears streaking her mascara.

Nathan's glacial stare landed on Evelyn before addressing his sister in an emotionless tone. "Explain."

Vanessa opened her mouth, but the damning evidence silenced her. Her wails grew louder instead.

Olivia crossed her arms. "Your darling sister planted a stolen bracelet in Evelyn's bag. When caught, she's suddenly the victim?"

Nathan's mind flashed to every injustice Evelyn had endured from his family. Instead of demanding answers from her, he asked quietly, "Is this true?"

Evelyn's bitter laugh held no warmth. "Why ask me? The proof's in her Prada. Though I suppose tears excuse everything in your world."

"I didn't do it!" Vanessa shrieked.

"Then empty your bag right now if you're so innocent!" Olivia's patience snapped. "Someone call the authorities! Maybe handcuffs will jog her memory!"

Cornered, Vanessa finally cracked. "They humiliated me! Made my friends laugh at me! I just wanted-"

Nathan's rage simmered beneath his stoic facade. He fantasized about shaking his sister until her warped logic rearranged itself. Bailing her out last time had been a mistake.

"I'll purchase the bracelet. Consider the matter closed," he offered dismissively.

Evelyn's piercing gaze stopped him cold. "Did I say we were done here?" The disappointment in her voice cut deeper than anger ever could. Some bonds, it seemed, transcended justice.

"Name any piece in this store as compensation," Nathan tried.

Her bitter chuckle echoed through the jewelry department. "How generous. But unlike some, I can afford my own luxuries. Funny how you're suddenly eager to buy me jewelry after three years of marriage yielded nothing but that ring I returned."

The truth landed like a physical blow. Nathan's chest constricted at the long list of his marital failures.

"Then what will satisfy you?" he ground out.

Evelyn's eyes held Arctic frost. "What do you think?"

Nathan exhaled sharply before turning to his sister. "Apologize. Now."

"Never! I'd rather get booked than apologize to that witch!" Vanessa spat.

"Vanessa Sterling," Nathan's voice turned deadly quiet, "if you land in jail tonight, not one cent of Sterling money will bail you out. Not even Grandmother Margaret's. Understood?"