Stole a Diamond I Sent You to Jail

The magnificent fifty-million-dollar pink diamond, crafted by Smith Group, vanished without a trace during its launch event.

Chloe, my subordinate whom I'd personally mentored, wailed hysterically into the cameras of a hundred media outlets: Eleanor, that's the lifeblood of Smith Group! Even if you desperately need money for your mother's medical treatment, you can't steal it!

Ethan, the Smith Group CEO I had loved for five years, publicly threw out a fabricated surveillance screenshot, captioned: "Mistaking garbage for gold is the biggest stain on my life, Ethan Smith."

Overnight, I became a notorious thief, public enemy number one across the entire internet.

My mother's intensive care ward was violently kicked open by influencers, and my brother, Leo, who has Asperger's, was forced to drink dirty water from a toilet.

Everyone demanded that I pay for my crimes with my life.

Ethan's bodyguards cornered me at the edge of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The entire internet celebrated: "Jump! You deserve to die!"

But three days later, when Chloe, at her lavish engagement party, flaunted that same pink diamond to the world, dozens of police cruisers roared to a halt, completely encircling the entire ballroom.

Did they really think I was just some pushover all these years?

"Eleanor, where did you hide the 'Star River Pink Diamond'? Speak up!"

Chloe's hand clamped down hard on my arm. Her freshly done, diamond-studded manicure dug sharply into my forearm.

Tiny trails of blood instantly seeped out.

Her eyes were bloodshot, and large tears streamed down her face. She sobbed dramatically into the hundreds of media cameras at the press conference.

Mr. Davies, Smith Group's Head of Security, irritably tugged at his walkie-talkie. A police baton slammed against the display stand with a resounding thud. The bulletproof glass hummed.

"Eleanor, this pink diamond is a crucial piece for Smith Group, set to win a gold award at the International Jewelry Exhibition!" Mr. Davies pointed his finger at me, spittle flying as he spoke. "Now, the iris-recognition safe that Chloe was personally responsible for has been forcibly cracked, and the diamond is gone!"

"The hallway surveillance clearly shows that only you returned to the core design studio last night, past midnight!"

"If you don't produce the diamond today, I'm calling the police to arrest you immediately!"

I stared at them expressionlessly. I raised my hand and, one by one, pried Chloe's fingers from my flesh.

Then I pushed her back about a foot and a half.

"I came back last night to get the exhibition schedule I'd forgotten." I met Mr. Davies' eyes, my voice flat. "As for that iris-recognition safe, Chloe insisted on being personally responsible for it from the very beginning."

"Only she recorded her iris and dynamic password. I never even touched that wretched box. How could I have cracked it?"

"You're lying!" Chloe shrieked, her perfectly applied makeup contorted with rage.

She spun around abruptly and flung herself at Ethan, who was emerging from the VIP channel.

"Ethan, you heard it last night, didn't you?" Chloe tugged at the sleeve of his tailored suit, crying dramatically, her face streaked with tears. "Eleanor said in the breakroom last night that her mother's kidney failure needed urgent surgery, and she wanted to take valuable company items to the black market for a quick turnover."

"I chewed her out, and she even got mad at me!"

I froze. My blood slowly turned cold.

Ethan.

The man for whom I'd pulled countless all-nighters, revising proposals, and braved a blizzard to cross half of New York to queue for special stomach medicine. The man I had silently loved for five entire years, even sacrificing the chance to launch my own brand to support him.

Ethan straightened, scoffing. He tossed his Rolls-Royce car keys onto the display stand, where they landed with a sharp clink.

"I'll vouch for that."

He didn't even spare me a glance, his eyes filled with nothing but disgust. "Eleanor did say something like that."

"It's normal for scum from the streets like her to go crazy with envy when she sees a fifty-million-dollar pink diamond."

Every word was like a rusty, dull knife slicing into my nerves.

"Ethan, when did I ever say I'd steal something for money?" I bit down hard, tasting blood on my tongue. "Why are you giving false testimony for her?"

Ethan pulled out his phone. The screen was shoved directly into my face.

It was his latest social media post, already with tens of thousands of likes. The accompanying image was a surveillance screenshot of me searching for documents in the design studio last night.

The caption read: "Mistaking garbage for gold is the biggest stain on my life, Ethan Smith."

"Don't play innocent here." Ethan looked down at me. "You're always trying to worm your way into my life, aren't you, just for my money?"

"Now that you realize you can't get anything out of me, you've laid your grubby hands on the company's confidential assets?"

"Ethan, don't be so harsh on Eleanor." Chloe nestled closer to Ethan, looking like a frightened, pitiful kitten. "She might really be desperate."

She turned, addressing me in a condescending, charitable tone. "Eleanor, if you just hand over the pink diamond, we won't call the police. We can resolve this internally, okay?"

Mr. Davies impatiently tapped the table. "Eleanor, the public outcry is already out of control!"

"The PR department's phones are ringing off the hook with calls from investors!"

"If you don't produce the diamond, the company will fire you today and blacklist you across the entire industry!"

I straightened my spine, refusing to back down. "I didn't steal it."

"Go ahead and call the police. Investigate my income, search my apartment."

Hearing "search my apartment," Chloe's eye twitched violently. But she immediately raised her voice. "What good will searching her apartment do?"

"It's a fifty-million-dollar diamond! You could sell it at any black market or hide it in some sewer. Who would ever find it?"

"Eleanor, did you secretly mail the diamond overnight to your crazy brother at that special education school?"

My fists clenched. My brother isn't crazy! He just has Asperger's Syndrome! His talent in mathematics is far greater than anyone present!

Chloe was fabricating lies, even dragging my innocent brother into it, just to solidify my guilt.

"Chloe, spreading rumors and defamation, causing significant economic loss, can land you in jail." I stared at her.

"Me, spreading rumors?" Chloe suddenly sneered. She pulled out her phone, attached it to a selfie stick, and opened a live stream. The camera zoomed in on my face.

"Everyone! This is Eleanor, the thief who stole the fifty-million-dollar pink diamond!"

Chloe, who had been sneering a second ago, instantly burst into tears. "She won't even return the diamond, and she's threatening me!"

"The company's hard work, meant for the exhibition, all taken by her to squander on her psycho brother!"

The live stream instantly surged to over a hundred thousand viewers. The comments section was flooded with malicious curses.

[She looks so poor, turns out she's a thief!]

[Find out where she lives! Kill her whole family!]

Ethan stepped in front of the camera, wrapping an arm around Chloe's shoulder. He looked at me as if I were a pile of garbage.

"Don't worry, everyone, I'll hire the best legal team in New York for Chloe."

"We won't let any corporate scoundrel get away with it."

I looked at that loathsome couple. A wave of nausea washed over me.

So, five years of genuine affection had been thrown away on nothing.

"Ethan, do you really think I stole the diamond?"

"Do you really think you're worthy of my trust?"

"Get out! Our company finds your filth disgusting!"

I had just been shoved out of the company building by security when a cup of scalding iced Americano came flying at my face. I dodged, but the bitter coffee splattered against the revolving glass door, soaking my only white work blouse.

Outside the building, chaos reigned. My office belongings were in a broken cardboard box, tossed on the steps, covered in muddy shoe prints. A large, glaring splash of red paint marred the center, making it look like a crime scene.

Chloe stood inside the door, wearing limited-edition high heels. Several interns who usually sucked up to me crowded around her, all holding up their phones, recording me.

"What are you staring at?" Chloe rolled her eyes. "Even your breathing pollutes Smith Group's air."

"Everyone collectively decided to throw you out like trash."

The entire street was packed with onlookers. Contemptuous stares and whispers felt like knives slicing my face.

"She even stole the company's lifeblood, why isn't she dead yet?"

"I heard she used to get poverty subsidies from the company. Pure ingrate!"

I ignored the voices. I knelt, searching through the rubbish on the ground. I picked up a shattered photo frame. Inside, it was a picture of my mother, my brother, and me. My father had died in a car accident years ago, leaving us with crushing debts. My mother had worked construction to put me through college.

A shard of broken glass dug deeply into my index finger. A bead of blood welled up.

Chloe stepped out. Her slender heel deliberately ground into my design drafts, twisting it twice. She leaned down, whispering in a voice only we could hear:

"Eleanor, don't struggle."

"Just take the blame for this, and you'll get less abuse."

I slowly stood up. I stared coldly at her Botox-filled face.

"You know best where the diamond went." I lowered my voice, my tone chilling. "Are you sure you deleted the underlying hidden logs of the iris-recognition safe completely?"

Chloe's smug expression instantly froze. Her pupils contracted slightly.

But she was a born drama queen. The next second, she stumbled back two steps, slamming her back against the glass door.

"Ah!" Chloe let out a bloodcurdling scream. She collapsed to the ground, clutching her face and wailing. "Eleanor! Why did you hit me!"

"I was just telling you to turn yourself in before it's too late!"

"You stole something, but how can you hurt someone too!"

The crowd outside instantly erupted.

"Holy crap! The thief even dares to hit people!"

A slightly overweight male fanatic rushed forward and shoved me hard. I was unprepared. My back slammed against the marble pillar, and a spasm of pain shot through me.

"Beat this shameless bitch to death!"

The crowd lost control. Countless hands reached out. Someone pulled my hair. Someone tore at my collar. Someone took advantage of the chaos to kick me hard in the shin several times.

I could only clench my teeth, fiercely clutching the photo frame to my chest.

"What are you doing! Are you rebelling!"

The building security guards, armed with riot shields, charged into the crowd, forcibly pushing people away.

I leaned against the pillar, gasping for breath. My hair was disheveled, my white shirt torn, exposing my shoulder.

Chloe was solicitously helped up by several interns. She hid behind the crowd, a cunning, poisonous smile curling her lips.

"Security guards, she stole a fifty-million-dollar diamond and hit me." Chloe, the villain, cried foul first. "We absolutely cannot let a violent maniac like her remain near the company!"

The security guard looked at me with disgust, as if I were something filthy.

"Eleanor, Mr. Smith just issued strict orders."

"You're completely fired."

"Grab your junk and get off this street immediately."

I said nothing. I picked up the broken cardboard box and haphazardly shoved the undestroyed drafts from the ground inside. Hugging the box, I walked down the steps, one by one.

Outside, the sun beat down fiercely. My phone vibrated frantically in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a trending news notification:

[Former director of a famous New York jewelry company steals fifty-million-dollar pink diamond, a beast in human skin!]

The accompanying image was a screenshot of my university mentor's Ins post. The esteemed old professor, a giant in the design world, had publicly written: "The biggest shame of my life is having taught a student like Eleanor."

Immediately followed by a second post:

[I have resigned from all association positions out of shame, unable to face the public.]

My mind buzzed and exploded. My fingers trembled uncontrollably. My breathing felt blocked by sandpaper.

A SnapChat notification popped up. It was a message from Chloe.

[Eleanor, the whole internet is condemning you. Why don't you get on your knees and beg me? If I'm in a good mood, I might even put in a good word for you. ]

I took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to smash my phone. I typed a reply.

[Chloe, you're overacting. It's easy to lose control of the show.]

Her reply was instantaneous.

[Still so stubborn. You'll soon find out what true despair feels like.]

"Ellie... they said you're a thief... they stomped on my drawing board... and they held me in the sink..."

On the phone, my fourteen-year-old brother, Leo, was sobbing uncontrollably. In the background, there were sharp jeers and the sound of things smashing.

My mind went blank. I dropped the box and ran like a madwoman to flag down a taxi.

By the time I reached the special education school, the sky had turned gloomy. The school entrance was blocked, swarming with influencers who had descended from every corner of the city, drawn by the scent of blood. Seven or eight blinding ring lights were pointed at the school gate.

"Everyone, look closely! This is the crazy brother of that fifty-million-dollar pink diamond thief!" A yellow-haired influencer held a selfie stick, almost shoving his phone into Leo's eyes. "To raise such a scoundrel, this little psycho must be rotten to the core too!"

The school's security guard was sweating profusely, trying to block the cameras. "Stop filming! The child is innocent!"

"Hey, what the heck! The old man dares to hit me?!" The yellow-haired influencer shrieked dramatically, then grabbed a cup of sour milk tea from a nearby trash can and violently slammed it onto Leo's head.

Sticky tapioca pearls and sour milk tea dripped down Leo's face. Leo cowered in the corner, clutching his head, trembling all over, letting out unconscious screams. It was a sign of his condition acting up.

My eyes instantly turned red. I charged into the crowd, grabbed the yellow-haired influencer by the collar, and shoved him hard.

"Get out! Who gave you permission to cause trouble here!" I stood in front of Leo, like a protective mother wolf.

"The main culprit is here! Guys, quick, film her!" All cameras instantly swiveled, pointing at me. The flashing lights made it impossible to open my eyes.

Just then, the screeching roar of a sports car tore through the commotion. A black Rolls-Royce drove directly onto the sidewalk, stopping at the school gate. The crowd automatically parted.

The car door sprang open. Ethan, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, his leather shoes spotless, stepped out. Chloe clung to his arm, looking like a helpless bird. She carried a brand-new Herms Himalaya bag, its perfume scent overpowering the sour smell in the air.

"Eleanor, you won't believe it until it's staring you in the face, will you?" Ethan walked up to me. He pulled a black card from his suit's inner pocket, holding it between two fingers, disdainfully swaying it in the air. "Inside here is a million dollars."

He gestured to the ground with his chin. "Now, kneel down."

"Kowtow three times to Chloe and say you were wrong, that you shouldn't have thrown dirt on her name."

"Then I'll give you this money, as if charity to a beggar, for your mother's surgery and to treat your foolish brother."

The surrounding influencers, as if on drugs, furiously pressed their camera shutters. Leo cried out in fear, clutching my shirt corner tightly.

I pulled Leo behind me. I turned, staring fixedly at Ethan. The hatred in my eyes was almost palpable.

"Ethan, you think a bit of money can help you manipulate everything?" I gritted my teeth, enunciating each word. "Your dear sister right here knows better than anyone where that fifty-million-dollar pink diamond went."

Ethan took a step forward. He grabbed my chin tightly, with so much force it almost crushed my jawbone.

"Eleanor, I'm warning you for the last time." His eyes were menacing. "Dare to bite Chloe again, and I'll make sure your whole family can't survive in New York."

He disgustedly pushed my face away. He took a wet wipe Chloe offered him, carefully cleaning his fingers as if he had touched some disgusting virus. When he finished, he crumpled the wipe into a ball and threw it at my face.

"Tomorrow, the industry-wide blacklist will be sent to every company."

"Let's go."

The sports car roared away, leaving a trail of exhaust and the influencers' unrestrained mockery.