Clayton instinctively began to tremble again. One of the guards noticed his reaction and immediately grew suspicious. "Did you steal something?" Hearing this, Clayton panicked. Call him anything, but don't accuse him of stealing. He wasn't particularly skilled at anything, but he would never resort to theft or any kind of crime. "I didn't steal anything! How could I possibly steal?" In his flustered state, he lost his grip on the wooden box. As his arm flailed, the box slipped from his fingers and hit the ground with a thud. All the guards immediately looked down. The exquisitely crafted wooden box lay quietly on the ground, conspicuously out of place—impossible to ignore. "You still claim you didn't steal anything?!" "I swear I didn't! Mrs. Marilyn gave it to me!" "Mrs. Marilyn?" The lead guard furrowed his brows, eyeing him skeptically. "It's true! Mrs. Marilyn really gave it to me!" "Quit wasting time with him, boss. Just open it up and see what's inside. There's a 99% chance it's stolen—seriously, who would give something to a mere driver?" "I'm not a driver! And this really is from Mrs. Marilyn! If you don't believe me, go ask her yourself!" The guards ignored him and went straight to opening the box. The moment the lid was lifted, revealing the contents, an eerie silence fell over the group. No one spoke. It was so quiet that if a pin had dropped, it would have been deafening. After a few seconds, one of the guards finally 'woke up.' He reached into the box and picked up the piece of gold. "You're saying this was given to you by Mrs. Marilyn?" Clayton nodded. But as soon as he met the sharp, predatory gazes of the guards, a sinking feeling settled in his gut.That piece of gold and the sapphire. He might not be able to keep them. "Say that again? This gold and the sapphire, Mrs. Marilyn gave them to you?" "Yes." This time, his voice was barely above a whisper. The guard rubbed his chin, smiling at him like a cat toying with a mouse. "Mrs. Marilyn gave you these? Wow, you must be someone really important." "No, no, not at all! I just did her a small favor, and she was in a good mood, so she rewarded me, that's all!" "Oh, I see." The guard continued stroking his chin, pretending to ponder. Just when Clayton thought the bodyguard would let him go, the man's expression suddenly changed the very next second. His eyes turned fierce, radiating a ruthless intensity. "Take him!" The order was barely out of his mouth before a group of guards lunged forward, tackling Clayton to the ground. In an instant, he was pinned down, his arms twisted behind his back."You've got some nerve stealing from the Johnston Residence. "Stealing flowers or plants is one thing, but something this expensive? "And you even dared to say Mrs. Marilyn gave it to you? At least come up with a believable lie! Do you even believe the nonsense you're spouting?" The lead guard hefted the piece of gold in his palm, looking down at Clayton with mockery in his eyes. Down on the cold ground, Clayton's face was drained of all color, his expression frozen in pure terror. After Clayton had left, Marilyn casually picked up the notebook she had been reading earlier. Sipping her tea, she leisurely flipped through its pages again.