Lisa agreed without hesitation, "Alright, Chloe. I promise."
Chloe laid down the rule, "You can't search it, and you definitely can't touch my purse. Let someone else handle it."
Lisa chuckled to herself. Chloe was being extra cautious. She probably thought Lisa might try to sneak the jewelry into her purse during the search. What Chloe didn't know was that the rose brooch was already in there. Lisa felt even more certain that Chloe was clueless about the brooch.
"Then let the host do the honors," Lisa suggested.
David stepped up, picking up Chloe's purse. He opened it and started rummaging through it. Despite his thorough search, he found nothing. At first, Lisa wore a smug smile, but as David continued to come up empty-handed, panic started creeping in.
David looked up and announced, "There's no rose brooch in Mrs. Sartori's purse."
Lisa was stunned. This couldn't be right. She had put it there herself and had been watching Chloe closely. Since Chloe came back, she hadn’t even touched her purse. The brooch had to be inside.
Lisa quickly moved forward, grabbed Chloe's purse, and emptied its contents onto the floor. There was barely anything—just Chloe's phone and some makeup. No brooch. Lisa couldn't believe it. She frantically checked every compartment, almost wanting to dive inside the purse herself, but the brooch was nowhere to be found.
How could this happen? Why was it happening? Frustrated, Lisa pointed accusingly at Chloe, her anger evident. "Chloe, where have you hidden my rose brooch?"
She pressed on, "You must've stashed it somewhere else. Admit it, Chloe, you hid it!"
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