Chapter 168 - Fake Black Diamond

The three gathered around closer, curious, and a bit nervous at the significance of the color of the box. The guard, who also got hesitant, looked up and moved his eyes at every one of them before proceeding. With Ajie's approval again, he lifted the box out and began tearing the sheets. The guard's frequent looking up at all of them sent shivers to their spines, and Allie almost had him stop and throw the gift away.

"No, we should take a look at it," Hayri said, sensing Allie's fear.

He then instructed her and Jane to go away, in case the content was something explosive. The two ladies immediately ran to the garden, alerting the rest of what was happening. Everyone stood up, and with knees trembling, they watched until the guard finished the unwrapping.

To everyone's surprise, the guard raised his hand and revealed a set of shining, black diamond ring. Hayri and Ajie took turns in inspecting it, and both frowned as they got lost in their thoughts. They picked up the sender's note, but nothing was there except for the "happy wedding" greeting printed on the card.

"Adrian, I am not comfortable that you stay in this house. Move as soon as possible to Uncle Angelo's place until your family's safety is guaranteed. In this way, you can also give auntie and uncle a chance to make up for those times you were away from them."

Ajie nodded with creased brows, obviously thinking who was holding a dispute against them and why. The fact that the sender sent on an important day, it could mean the enemy knew their activities. However, he could only point it out to Andrew. His parents knew about the event today because he apologized for not giving them a chance to attend his wedding. Perhaps, they relayed it either to Joanna or to Andrew himself.

"I'm afraid of what Ryan said about Andrew as a pawn might be true after all," Ajie said, looking at Hayri, who looked bothered as well.

"Let's send someone to investigate who is handling him and his band."

"Sounds a good idea," Ajie agreed, but deep in his heart, he was still doubting about Andrew's capability to do that, granting his anxiety attack lately.

Still lost in thoughts, Ajie jolted back to reality when Hayri tugged his arm and said, "Come, let's not spoil the event. Let's set it aside for now."

When the two men returned to the table, everyone met them with their questioning gazes, and soon their questions came in simultaneously.

"Who's the sender? Is it written on the card?' Cherry stood up subconsciously, stressing out her question with her widened eyes.

"No."

"Is that a set of black diamond rings?" Mrs. Lopez seconded, validating her guess.

Jane reached out to pick up the small box Ajie placed on the top of the table. She raised it to an eye level and voiced out her thoughts. "I think these are real, black diamond rings."

"Why do you think the sender chooses black, and why should it be a ring?" Mr. Lopez shared his curiosity, as well.

Hayri looked at Allie and frowned. "If we take Andrew out of this, he should be someone that one of you may have crossed. Since the warning was sent first to Chloe and now to both of you, it suggests that one of you must be the target."

Staring at Hayri and wondering what he meant, Allie asked, "What do you mean?"

"Dear, tell us, is there someone else pursuing you while we were in Tuzla?"

"What?" Allie replied instantly in shock, unprepared for the unexpected direction of the investigation. Seeing her surprised look, Hayri chuckled and cleared out her throat afterward.

"What I mean, dear, is that I am thinking that a frustrated suitor can also do this."

Allie shook her head, somewhat humiliated for being accused of hiding something. Before she could speak out her thoughts, Cherry butted in.

"No one dared to show such intention with your scary eyes, you know," Cherry began stating her opinion but soon stopped when Jane broke out laughing. Drawn by her contagious bout of laughter,  everyone soon joined in, and Ajie fidgetted in his seat. Allie stiffened as well, but she was better than Ajie in pretending a smile.

"Crazy!" Hayri exclaimed while glaring at Cherry, but his sharp eyes prompted Cherry to roll out laughing.

When their laughter finally ebbed down, Hayri scratched his head and gestured for Cherry to continue.

"If you ask for my opinion, I am suspecting that he must be someone who also wanted to buy the shares of Rough Seas. Since you intervened, he does not get the chance to grow as large as we are now."

Everyone nodded. Cherry had a good point.

"But why does he seem to know our family activities?" Mrs. Lopez asked.

"Someone is sent to monitor you," Atty. Manloza shared her thoughts for the first time. They all glanced at her and her husband, whom they forgot momentarily because of the commotion.

"That's right, so you need to be careful," Judge Manloza seconded with a rhythmic nod of his head.

As everyone fell silent, Allie, who sank in her seat due to the awkward scene, spoke out. "Aren't we exaggerating? What if this is just a plain gift? To think, these are real diamonds. Why spend big if the intention is revenge?"

"May I see the rings? One of our businesses is jewelry," Atty. Manloza said, and Ajie handed the set right away. 

Atty. Manloza opened her bag and pulled out a magnifying glass. "One of the ways to tell if a diamond is real or fake is to check out for imperfections in it. If you don't see any, then it's fake."

Everyone gaped at the information as they watched her flip over the rings under the thick lens. Without looking at them, Atty. Manloza pulled out something in her bag. It looked like a small stick like a portable penlight, and once she pushed a button to turn it on, it emitted a black light. She then focused the light on the rings, and it reflected green light.

"So, this is fake."