Chapter 468 Code and Consequence
Finished
Eliza and Nolan had already noticed the inscription on the ring the night before. After some digging, they discovered the string of characters was actually Emilia’s birthday, and the first letter–E–clearly stood for
her name.
Colton, by now, had completely lost his patience. They’d spent the whole morning fixated on this one damn ring.
“Where the hell did you even buy this thing?” he asked irritably. “Did you just bring home a giant. headache?”
Nolan had only purchased the ring back then because it suited Eliza.
Now that he thought about it, the whole thing felt oddly fated.
Lewis, who’d been examining the ring, finally spoke. “Well, I’ve checked everything. From the outside, there’s nothing suspicious. The only meaningful detail is that code. You’ll have to decide what to do next.”
“That code doesn’t mean much. It’s just my mother’s birthday and the first letter of her name,” Eliza muttered.
If even Lewis couldn’t find anything, chances were no one else could either.
After all, Elaine had worn the ring around the banquet all night, showing it off to a crowd of expert jewelers. None of them had noticed anything off.
“Unless…”
The moment Lewis said that word, Eliza perked up. “Unless what?”
Lewis shook his head. “Unless you’ve got the wrong ring. Because there’s absolutely nothing unusual about this one.”
“But we’ve already checked every ring,” Eliza replied. “This is the last one left.”
She’d gone through every piece of jewelry her mother had left behind. This was the only one that had slipped through the cracks.
And now that it was finally in their hands–still nothing.
Disappointment crept in.
“If you really don’t mind ruining it,” Lewis said, half–joking, “you could just break it apart. Who knows? Maybe it’s like those TV shows, and there’s a secret hidden inside.”
Colton’s eyes widened. “Are you serious? If that ring’s as valuable as you say it is, who the hell would dare destroy it? Even if you could reassemble it, it’d never be the same again–let alone worth the same. And you’re talking about destroying it?”
Even Eliza hesitated.
It wasn’t just the monetary value–this was her mother’s keepsake. If they took it apart and found nothing, all their effort would be for nothing, and they’d destroy something irreplaceable in the process,
She rubbed her temples. “If we can’t find another way… we’ll break it open.”
Chapter 468 Code and Consequence
Colton frowned. “It’s your mom’s ring. You really willing to do that?”
“I’m not,” Eliza whispered. “But we might have to.”
Because they still didn’t know what Felix wanted.
And that meant they had to act first.
Eliza had a gut feeling–Felix was after something hidden inside this ring, something dark, something
secret.
And she needed to uncover it before he did.
Nolan chimed in. “It’s about time. Let’s head to the Leaf family and see what they know.”
“Okay.”
Meanwhile-
Inside the Foster estate-
Henry entered the study, only to be struck square in the forehead by a flying book.
He didn’t flinch, allowing the book to hit him directly.
“Father.”
Felix’s voice was cold, sharp. “You threw a banquet this elaborate–what exactly were you trying to accomplish?”
He was clearly furious.
Henry remained calm. “It was just a gathering to build some connections. Why the sudden interrogation, Father?”
“I heard a ring was stolen at the banquet. Is that true?”
Wendy, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow. “Henry, something as big as retrieving the ring, and you didn’t even tell your brother? You’ve been investigating it on your own. Are you trying to uncover some secret?”
Her words were pure provocation, but Henry stayed composed.
“It’s just an expensive ring,” he said. “I had it stolen, so of course I needed to inspect it myself. I had to make sure there was no problem before handing it over. Isn’t that what you would’ve wanted?”
“But you didn’t report it right away. Were you plotting something?”
Felix’s gaze turned deadly.
Henry replied evenly, “You’re overthinking it. I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t sure it was the ring you were looking for. The whole purpose of the banquet was to confirm whether the ring held any secrets. But after everything, I can confidently say–there’s nothing hidden in it. It appears to be just an ordinary ring. Not- the one you
wanted.”
