Clara, noticing the change in Eric's expression, bit down on her lips angrily. 'It has been so many years already, but just a mention of her would cause Eric to have a change of emotions. How hateful.' She thought to herself. But the thought of her perfectly laid plan had soothed her.
'The more you occupy a place in his heart, the easier it is to make him hate your daughter.' Clara thought as she looked hatefully at Ella who was still looking down at her plate.
"Summon the maids, a necklace that was in my room cannot suddenly have gone missing!" Clara commanded as Elizabeth hurried to get all the maids over. Clara intends to embarrass Ella in the presence of even the maids. 'I want to see how you would be able to strut around and be compared to my daughter!' Clara scoffed inwardly.
Soon, the maids all came out, "I am only going to ask you all this one time," Clara paused before continuing, "Who amongst you went to my room and took my diamond necklace?" The maids all glanced at one another before shaking their heads.
"You all must be playing us for a fool right?! Did the necklace suddenly develop feathers and fly off?! Who is it?!" Emily's voice also sounded as she stood beside her mother.
Pointing at a maid, "It must be you right?" The maid who Emily pointed at soon knelt down. "I swear it is not me," Ella smirked, this was the same maid who in her past life had accused her. She had claimed she saw her coming out of Clara's bedroom. A maid had said she was innocent and they believed her, but when she had said the same, no one believed her. Instead, they had all matched to her room to search for the said jewelry. Ella, who had been so certain that they wouldn't find it there, was shocked when Emily had pulled it out of her bag pocket. She had then been branded a thief in her own home, a name that was soon spread out to outsiders.
"You didn't? Then why did you look so guilty earlier? You must be lying, you know something." Emily taunted.
"What are you all still doing standing? She will confess when she is being beaten!" Clara says as the maid quickly shouts, "I really did not steal. I was just shocked that you said it was missing, I had seen the youngest Miss holding it earlier this morning when she came out of your room." Ella almost laughed. She recalled being shocked and screaming at this maid for lying in her past life.
But now, she just stared at her calmly as she walked toward her. "Who did you say you saw?" Her calmness got Clara and Emily worried. They had expected her to be in tears right now as she pleaded her innocence to her father. Only when she is looking like such a mess, would her father's displeasure grow.
"Mi..ss, I am sorry. But I cannot be flogged when I didn't do it, I can only say what I saw." The maid, who was certain that with Emily and Clara backing her up, she would be safe, decided to continue with the plan.
"I see," Ella said with a small laugh; Eric's gaze was on her, and seeing her laugh caused him to think back at a memory. It was the memory of when Flora had first discovered his affair, she had laughed just like that as tears streaked down her face.
"Even a maid dares to accuse me of stealing; I guess I must prove my innocence, right?" Ella pointed at the maid who had come to wake her up earlier, "What was I doing when you came into my room earlier?"
The maid, although shocked at being singled out, still responded. "I... I met you sleeping." Ella nodded.
"Before her arrival, I was sleeping. And yet a maid claimed to have seen me walking out of your room. Luckily, we are in an advanced world; we can check for your room handle for fingerprints." The reason why she had chosen to not return the jewelry to Clara's room was because of this. In case they decide to check for prints she cannot afford hers to be found there. Emily's room handle is a different case though, last night, her good stepsister had called her in to show her the new handbag their father had gotten for her.
Clara frowned, it wasn't going as she had planned. 'I need to get this bi*ch room searched. Let me see how she will still put on airs after that.' She thought.
"We can figure out who is lying after searching right?" Clara said, annoyed that she had been pushed to make such a statement. "Of course, I am not saying you did it darling, but only after we conduct a search can we get these maids to be quiet and not making any wrongful accusations." She added. Clara cannot afford for her well-established character as a caring stepmother to crumble.
"Your mother is right." Eric, who had been frowning, suddenly said, causing the pair of mother and daughter to release a sigh of relief. They had thought that their plan might fail.
"Of course, let's search." Ella led them upstairs and opened her door for them to search. The maids quickly got to work.
"Don't touch her bags, what if you ruin them?!" Emily sounded panicked as she took the bag from a maid. "Sister, don't worry I will search the bags carefully myself. I won't let it be ruined." Once again, Ella smirked as she calmly watched Emily. The bag they had hidden the jewelry in was the one her Aunt Mira, had gotten for her during her last visit.
When Emily picked up that bag, she had subtly looked over at Ella, curious to see the expression she would have when she pulled out the necklace. Her slender finger searched the bag, and soon, a small frown appeared on her face, but she quickly covered it up. 'Stupid Elizabeth, she cannot even follow a simple instruction.' How can she destroy this bag if the necklace isn't in it?
"So? Did you find the necklace in my room? Or should I strip for you to check?" Hearing her question, Eric's voice boomed.
"How dare you accuse my daughter of such a slanderous act?!" Eric asked the maid who was now scared out of her wits. This isn't supposed to be... Elizabeth had told her that she had planted it already, so what happened?
"I..."
"Are we only checking my room? From the beginning, no one checked to see if the necklace was truly missing. Besides, stepmother had taken the necklace to show sister too, right? Why am I the only one subjected to a search?" Hearing her say stepmother made Eric's frown deepen; he had told her many times to refer to her as a mother.
"We will check every room," Eric says as he walks to their bedroom. 'Indeed they hadn't even checked to see if it was truly missing. How agitated was Clara to have forgotten this?' He thought as he glanced at a frowning Clara. He didn't think much of her frown.
Ella took the opportunity to check if the box that held her mother's valuable jewelry had been moved into Clara's reach. Seeing as the box wasn't there, she became uninterested in the search. As of now, Clara is yet to have the guts to use her mother's things.
It wasn't until they went to Emily's room that they saw the jewelry on her rug. Emily and Clara were shocked. How was it here? Clara had given this to Elizabeth downstairs and asked her to take it to Ella's room so what was it doing in Emily's room?
"Impossible!" Emily cried.
"What is? The fact that the necklace has been found, or the fact that it wasn't found in my room?" Ella asked. Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Ella dear, you cannot say that. I am sorry if you thought we were accusing you. I just wanted to help you clear your name. It is good that it is all a misunderstanding." Clara said with a smile.
"Fire that maid." With those words, Eric left.
"It is not over." Emily gritted out after Eric left.
"Of course not. It is only just the beginning." Smirking, Ella turned to leave.