Chapter 36: Chapter 36

Getting to Citadel's, Val rushed into the showroom. She frowned deeply seeing how smoothly organized business was going and contemplated if there was any truth in what Daisy had told her.

Val knew not about the Laguna teardrop as she had only been at Citadel's for a few days. However, having been in the showroom plenty of times in the past few days, she noticed something was off.

Nonetheless, she walked towards the receptionist whose smile was as bright as usual. It wasn't when she got close, that Val noticed that the corner of Daisy's mouth was slightly wry as she beamed with a smile.

" Daisy, what's going on? What's the situation?" Val asked, shooting her head forward to ask in a low tone.

" Miss Val, I have no idea at the moment. You should meet with the other managers and Miss Margarette. Here's your Key card" Daisy responded in a whisper, covering her mouth with a hand. She slid a black key card across her desk to Val.

Val furrowed her brows and proceeded towards the elevator without a word more. She didn't think too much about how Daisy acted, this wasn't the first time she'd be interacting with her this way after all.

Val pressed the button to the floor of her office and sighed as she waited in the elevator. She couldn't help but give a second thought to Daisy's previous words when she had first called her. Could it be that she was being suspected? Val, however, shook the thought off her mind.

Just as the elevator stopped, Valerie saw the faces of those whom she knew and had problems with, the three significantly being Mark, Margarette, and Kaitlyn. She instantly knew there was trouble.

There were other faces whom she knew, like the two managers of finance and production and their assistants. Meanwhile, there were also those whom she almost didn't know but could make out they were fellow employees present as well.

" There she is, the star of the show" Mark muttered to himself with a sinister smile.

"What's going on?" Val was surprised at the number of employees standing by the door to her office. As she slowly walked out of the elevator, she started to have a really bad premonition.

" Ms Valerie, we're..."

" Let me" Maggie stepped forward, warning the security personnel whom she had prior appointed to search.

" We're searching for a missing jewelry piece, and we're taking urgent action to make a quick internal search. We've moved about all offices and next is yours." She pointed at Val's office. Maggie didn't waste time informing her of everything that had transpired in the emergency meeting.

" What?" Val's face contorted into an expression of confusion. How could a missing jewelry piece be in her office?

" We have no choice now. Please unlock the office so they can do their job." Maggie urged as she glared a dangerous glance at the security personnel. They all deserved to be laid off for having been manipulated by Mark so easily. Maggie made a mental note to do something about them. Specifically Mr Porter who without doubt had an important contribution to this.

Val stood looking at each of their faces with incredulous gaze. She thought she must be having a bad dream. However, the more she waited for the dream to end, the more she realized everything was real and that now everyone gave her a suspicious look.

She looked towards Manager Ashley and Callie, who in return nodded at her affirmatively.

" F-fine!" Val had no reason to refuse. She knew they wouldn't be able to find anything with her considering she didn't take the jewelry nor have anything to do with it.

Val marched through the crowd and slid her key card to open the door. Everyone proceeded into the office right after Val unlocked it with her keys.

" Search the office" Mr Porter ordered and the security personnel quickly spread out.

Val watched all of this with a restless heart. She couldn't help but be wary of those around her, this might all be a connived plan to lay her off from the office. She knew not to trust anyone of them and hoped the jewelry piece wasn't in her office. However, a part of her knew this was all preordained and that it'd be found in her office.

" H-here!" A security personnel called out as he raised the Laguna teardrop with an expression of shock evident in his gaze.

Maggie, the managers, and every other person present had an expression of disbelief in their faces. They all peered a gaze at Val the next instant, giving her accusatory stares.

" W-what?" Even if Val had already anticipated this, she still couldn't believe it. She stared in confusion at the man holding the necklace with a lake blue refined diamond teardrop pendant.

' why would the jewelry piece be found in my office? How? Just... Why?

Val reached into her memory to see where she'd gone wrong. Of course, she knew it wasn't her doing, but only that it was all a plan made by someone who wanted her out of the company. Could it be Maggie and Courtney's doing? It wouldn't be any tasking for them to execute after all.

More importantly, her whole career was at jeopardy!

Val looked up to see what Maggie had to say but she only had that scornful frown on her face.

However, just at the periphery of her eyes, Val caught sight of someone and she snapped into realization.

Mark... he has a sly smile on his face at the moment.

But how could he have...?

Val teared up, she felt betrayed and generally bereaved. She found it hard to believe Mark of all people could pull any of this off, after all he'd previously done.

With the smirk on Mark's face, he was telling her this was all his doing. And she could do nothing to refute it.

" I- I know nothing about any of this!" Val muttered devastated. Not that anyone would believe her.