Free Web NovelChapter 120: Chapter 121: Felix Preston Just Likes Me
Renee Sinclair pulled her bag out from behind her, rummaged through it, and handed a voice recorder to Sonia Quincy.
"It’s all on here."
Sonia Quincy frowned. "Just the recording?"
Renee Sinclair replied, "For now, yes. It’s been too long. The surveillance footage from both the pawn shop and the Quincy estate has long been overwritten. There’s no way to recover it."
"...Fine." Sonia was reluctant, but there was truly no other option at the moment.
Since Renee Sinclair had obtained the recording, Sonia saw no reason to be secretive. She played the entire recorded conversation right there in front of her.
"Yes, yes, of course I remember! That’s the only Patek Philippe I’ve taken in since I opened. I could never forget it."
"Do you remember who the person who sold the watch was?"
"Hmm, I have a vague impression..."
The man speaking on the recording was the owner of a luxury pawn shop in Aethelburg. Mr. Quincy’s newly purchased Patek Philippe watch had been stolen and resold to his store.
And, unsurprisingly, the person who stole the watch was, once again, her predecessor.
Ever since her predecessor had intentionally damaged Cecilia Quincy’s Jade Necklace out of jealousy, the Quincy Family had drastically cut her allowance as punishment. Cecilia received an allowance of over a hundred thousand a month, and could ask for more if it wasn’t enough. But her predecessor got only ten thousand, a fixed amount with no exceptions.
Ten thousand was nowhere near enough for her predecessor, who had been a big spender since childhood. She could blow past her budget just by buying a single outfit.
Thus, her predecessor had another motive to steal.
That day, her predecessor was just getting home when she ran into Cecilia Quincy returning from a shopping trip. Cecilia was wearing a new haute couture gown from Dior and a pair of Chanel sunglasses. Trailing behind her was Willow Quincy, laden with all the new jewelry, shoes, and clothes Cecilia had just bought.
When she saw the girl, she first let out a surprised "Oh?" before asking, "Sonia, were you out shopping today too? I think I saw you outside a secondhand watch shop. I was going to say hello, but my brother was waiting for me in the parking lot, so I had to leave."
"What?!"
Hearing this, Mr. Quincy, who had been searching the living room for his watch, instantly exploded. He strode out from behind the sofa, his face dark, and glared viciously at the girl. "What were you doing at a secondhand watch shop?"
The girl shook her head, a look of confusion on her face. "I... I didn’t go..."
"Father, what a silly question," Cecilia interrupted, smiling sweetly. "Isn’t a secondhand watch shop a place to sell watches? Sonia obviously went there to sell one of her old ones."
"An old watch?" Mr. Quincy narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Which one did you sell? You don’t seem to have that many watches, do you?"
"I... I didn’t..." The girl shook her head frantically. "I didn’t sell a watch, and I didn’t go to any pawn shop..."
"Search her!" Mr. Quincy didn’t listen to a single word of her explanation. After the incident with the damaged necklace, she was nothing but a certified delinquent in the eyes of the Quincy Family.
"Search her!" Mr. Quincy grabbed Fiona Dalton, his face flushed red as he growled.
Fiona Dalton understood what was happening. Without needing Mr. Quincy to repeat himself, she immediately stepped forward and began to search the girl.
It didn’t take much effort to find a newly issued bank card on her.
Mr. Quincy immediately ordered someone to check the card’s balance and transaction history. The investigation revealed a recent deposit of fifteen million, which came from the very secondhand watch shop Cecilia had mentioned.
And so, the Quincy Family was utterly convinced of her guilt in stealing and selling the watch.
From that moment on, Mr. and Mrs. Quincy were completely disappointed in her and no longer treated her as their daughter.
But now, listening to the man’s words on the recording, Sonia Quincy couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
"The person who came to sell the watch was a young woman in her early twenties. Very young, and probably very pretty... I don’t know what she looked like, because she was wearing a big, thick mask that covered almost her entire face."
"What was she wearing? I remember she was dressed all in black—black shirt, black pants, black shoes. The hood on her clothes was pulled up tight over her head. I barely even saw her eyes."
"Anything memorable... Does her really long, dark hair count? And the ends were curled, curled very beautifully."
"She wasn’t very tall, but she had a nice figure... Why did I buy the watch without seeing her face? Because she brought the original receipt! Having the receipt proves the watch came from a legitimate source, doesn’t it?"
’Black shirt, black pants, black shoes...’ Sonia recalled that her predecessor was obsessed with her appearance. She loved bright colors and intricate, elaborate dresses. In all her years with the Quincy Family, she had never bought a single black item of clothing. How could she possibly have gone out dressed in all black?
Cecilia, on the other hand, favored that kind of simple, minimalist style and had plenty of solid black or white dresses in her walk-in closet.
’As for the long, dark, curly hair, that had even less to do with her predecessor. At that time, she had just dyed her hair a chestnut brown, and it was only shoulder-length. Not only was it not curly, but it was stick-straight and smooth from a recent deep conditioning treatment.’
’If I remember correctly, the one with long, dark, curly hair back then was Cecilia. Cecilia loved that hairstyle. From the moment she returned to the Quincy Family and entered my predecessor’s life, her hair had always been that way, and it still is.’
So, as for who really sold that watch, Sonia already knew the answer.
She put the voice recorder back in her bag and turned her head to look at Renee Sinclair. "Have Aunt Collins find a time to take pictures of Cecilia’s walk-in closet. Especially the area where she keeps her out-of-season clothes."
Renee Sinclair nodded. "Got it."
Sonia took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. "I’ve gotten two of the things I needed. Now it’s your turn to make a request. Tell me, how are you going to earn those ’affection points’?"
Renee Sinclair thought for a moment. "Before I start earning those affection points, I want to ask you a question."
"What is it?" Sonia looked down at her own stomach, her expression blank.
Renee asked, "What kind of girl does Felix Preston actually like? What can I do to make him hate me less?"
Sonia felt a flash of irritation. Her tone was sharp as she answered, "Felix Preston doesn’t like any kind of girl. He just likes me. Nothing you do will work. No matter what you do, he’ll still hate you."
"...Sonia!" Renee’s own temper flared at Sonia’s sudden moodiness. "You were the one who proposed this deal! What are you doing now? Kicking me to the curb now that you have what you want?"
"..." Sonia felt both resentful and guilty, and could only manage a single, "I’m sorry."
