#Chapter 13- Replica vs Authentic
Stella
I tear my gaze away from Adrian’s unable to even look at the man that stands before me. I spot a nearby hotel employee, signaling them over. They slowly approach me, nodding their head, ready to receive my command
“I want to see the security footage,” I gesture to the security cameras that hang in the top corners of the ceiling. facing every direction of the room.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but the security cameras are currently offline. They have been broken for quite awhile now,” the hotel employee informs me, hanging their head down low.
I turn to look at Clara, who feigns a look of innocence on her face. She planned this from the very beginning. I wonder how much money it took to have the hotel turn a blind eye to her antics.
“We need to call the police right this instant!” My father’s shout carries across the room. He approaches Clara and the necklace, wagging his finger at me. “She’s a thief and she must be dealt with accordingly
“No, no, it is okay, father. Stella has probably never seen an expensive necklace like this before! I think she just wanted to have a closer look.” Clara’s voice exudes warmth but I can see right through her antics.
I cross my arms over my chest and stare at her, shaking my head back and forth. People murmur around the room, noting how well behaved and how kind of a soul Clara has. Thave to stop myself from rolling my eyes.
A man bursts into the room. Gasps erupt from all around the room, the people clearing a way as a man in a delivery uniform quickly approaches me. With one look at him, I immediately recognize Sebastian, my eyes drifting up to the black cap on his head and dark clothing.
“Miss Stella? Your necklace has arrived,” he greets me. My mouth hangs open and he slyly winks at me, signaling for me to play along
Sebastian pulls out a black velvet box from behind his back, showing it off to me and to the people in the room who can see it. With one fluid motion, he opens up the jewelry box. The room gasps.
An extravagant diamond necklace lays on the plush silk inside the box. Its shape and form is identical to the necklace that Clara wears once again. It exudes money and luxury, even more than Clara’s does.
I reach out and pick the necklace up, holding it against the light of the room. Unlike Clara’s necklace, the diamonds in this one reflect not just the light but small rays of rainbows, the prisms of the diamonds splitting the rays of light.
“Could it be?” A person to my right side gasps.
“Is the one the real necklace? How can Stella afford such a thing?” A woman from behind me gasps from shock.
I place the necklace back into the box when the screens inside the room light up. A breaking news report flashes across the screen. A woman holds a microphone on screen in front of an auction house.
“This just in, the Heart of the Sea has been sold for two hundred million dollars! Nobody knows who the buyer is but their recent purchase as caused a storm among jewelry collectors.”
I glance between the necklace and Sebastian, fighting the urge to smile. He takes the necklace from the box and places it around my neck, the piece of jewelry feeling heavy from the weight of real diamonds.
“It’s a fake! I can tell it is!” Clara steps forward, “this kind of lie is so easy to expose!”
She wears a forced smile on her painted red lips, hand extended out to reach for the necklace. I slap her hand away and take a step backwards. Clara’s face darkens.
#Chapter 13–Recica vs Authecks
#26 BONUS
Her expression turns sour, her hand reaching out to attemp to grab it again but stops. Instead, she crossen her arms over her chest and glares at the piece of jewelry on my neck.
“The diamonds don’t even look reall” Clara boasts and turns her chin upwards, looking away as a form of protest.
The jewelry appraiser from before approaches me with a land smile.
“May 1?” He kindly asks. I nod.
The man leans in and closely inspects the necklace. My heart races Inside of my chest.
Where had the necklace even come from? Did Sebastian gel this for me? Is this the surprise he had mentioned to me earlier?
“I can confirm,” the man begins. The room leans in to hear what he says to say, hanging onto every word. “The necklace is real! Perhaps it is Clara who has seen too few luxury pleces to know what a real one looks like!”
I tilt my head to the side to look at my adoptive family. Their faces are red, arms crossed over the chests, Clara- looks like she is holding back a scream, unable to control the fury that boils over inside her head.
Humiliation is written all over my adoptive parents faces. They turn their gazes away from me as the room slowly descends into chaos.
People laugh while others step away to speak in their own tiny groups. All eyes are on us. I feel a pair of hands on my shoulders and I turn to look up at Sebastian.
Adrian
I can’t help but watch as the delivery man helps guide Stella through the chaos of the room. I follow through the crowd, my eyes trained to the back of their heads. They exit through the doors and disappear before I can catch up.
Sighing, I turn away from the doors and walk back through the erratic crowd. I look at Clara, who avoids my gaze, and instead whines and talks in hushed whispers with her parents.
I decided to stand by myself trying to wrap my head around what just happened. Minutes pass and everyone remains in their groups.
My phone buzzes in my pocket while others ring simultaneously throughout the room. I slip it out from my pants and press on the notification.
A clip from the hotel’s security cameras begins to play. I watch as the scene from earlier unfolds.
Stella stands across from Clara in the middle of the room. I follow her blonde hair, watching as she sinks into the background, necklace in hand. When everyone stares at Stella, she passes off the necklace to the assistant that she recently hired.
The clip switches to another feed, one that is focused on the door where Stella’s bag sits. The employee drops the necklace into the bag then looks around before picking it up. There’s no audio but I can see him yell that he has found the necklace.
The clip ends. I turn off my phone and look at Clara, my expression hardening.
“She ordered me to do it! She paid me to do it!” Clara’s assistant blurts out.
“I–I can explain!” Clara’s voice trembles, her eyes wide with fear. She hesitates, the room falling silent, before she continues, “I only gave her the necklace for safekeeping. She must’ve been scared of getting caught and turned it on me.
I sigh, running over her words in my mind. After a few seconds, I nod, choosing to believe her. She’s never been
Chapter 13- Replica vs Authen
one to lie to me, and something in her voice feels genuine.
A pang of regret flashes across my chest. I sigh as Stella’s face appears in my mind. She looked at me with such indifference but her eyes were filled with nothing but betrayal.
I shouldn’t have been so hasty when accepting Clara’s accusation as truth. I should have taken the time to figure out the truth instead of going in blind.
