Billionaire And His Son Betrayed Me: Brothers Back Me Up novel Chapter 279

Chapter 279

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Richard quickly buried the cold glint in his eyes, fixing Xylia with an easy, gentlemanly smile–playing the perfect gentleman.

“So, Ms. Sadler, I heard you’ll be competing in the international fashion event soon. Came here hunting for inspiration?”

“Yes.” Xylia replied simply.

‘Honestly, my mind is on Joshua right now,’ Xylia thought, barely paying any real attention to Richard.

Out of courtesy, Xylia chose not to prolong the conversation any further.

Before Richard could get another word out, Xylia cut him off.

“Sorry, Mr. Shaw, I need to go find my boyfriend. Let’s talk another time.”

A sharp glint flashed in Richard’s eyes, but he quickly masked it.

“No worries, Ms. Sadler. There’s no need for formalities–just call me Richard.”

“Alright. Then you can call me Xylia too.” She nodded with a polite smile and walked away.

Xylia responded with a smile, gave Richard a nod, and was just about to leave.*

But as she turned around, a museum staff member suddenly stopped her.*

“Excuse me, miss, could you wait a moment?“*

Xylia turned toward the staff member. “What’s up?“*

“Were you just in the Medieval Costume Gallery?” the staff member asked.

Xylia looked a little puzzled, but she gave an honest nod.

Instantly, the staff member’s face grew stern.

“Sorry to trouble you, miss, but we’ve just discovered that one of the medieval court dresses in there has been deliberately damaged. I’d need you to cooperate and let us do a quick check.”

The staff member sounded unyielding, making Xylia knit her brows at her.

“I didn’t damage any of the clothes here,” Xylia replied, her voice unwavering.

None of the medieval costumes in the gallery were locked away in glass cases; they were just roped off with red cords to keep people from getting too close.

Xylia hadn’t even gone near them, much less touched or damaged anything.

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Chapter 279

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She looked the staff member in the eye. “Go ahead and check the security cameras if you want.”

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The staff member shook her head. “The cameras in there have been down since last week, so we can’t use them to clear your name right now.”

Xylia was starting to get annoyed.

‘Great, so there’s no proof, and I’m just supposed to take the blame?‘ she thought.

Just as she was about to say something, a deep male voice interrupted from nearby.

“So you’re just going to accuse her without a single shred of evidence, since the cameras aren’t working?”

Richard stepped forward, giving the staff member a cold stare. “If that’s how you want to play it, we could take you to court for spreading lies.”

Richard might have looked soft on the outside, but the air of authority he carried was impossible to ignore.

Just a single sharp look and a few cool words–and suddenly the staff knew this was not a guy you could mess with.

The staff member hesitated for a moment.

But even so, she kept her brow furrowed and wouldn’t let Xylia leave.

“These museum pieces are way too valuable. Even if you take me to court, I’m not dropping this until I find out what really happened.”

Xylia had no option but to follow the staff member inside.

Richard trailed behind.

Once they were back in the gallery, Xylia spotted the dress she saw earlier.

It was a stunning medieval court gown–wide hoop skirt, tight bodice, cinched waist, the craftsmanship just exquisite. But now, the skirt had a jagged gash in it, sliced by something sharp, and the damage was plain as day.

Xylia thought back carefully before saying, “When I saw the dress earlier, it was completely intact. I’m not carrying any blades, so this wasn’t me.”

The staff member looked at her.

“How can you tell it was cut with a blade?”

Xylia shot her a look of exasperation. “I’m a fashion designer. Believe me–when a dress gets sliced like this, I can tell right away.”

“Oh, so you’re a designer. That just means you know all the tricks to secretly ruin a dress without anyone even noticing, huh?”

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Chapter 279

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Xylia just glared at the staff member, frustration simmering in her eyes.

It was obvious this staff member just wanted to stick the blame on her.

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There hadn’t been a soul inside earlier, and Joshua was nowhere to be seen–she didn’t have a single witness to vouch for her.

“Go ahead and call the police. Damaging an artifact is a serious accusation–you can’t just slap that label on me based on nothing but your own imagination,” Xylia said confidently, reaching for her phone.

But before she could make the call, the staff member suddenly snatched her phone away.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” Xylia shot at her, anger flaring up.

“What the hell are you doing?” Xylia snapped, her eyes blazing as she stepped forward, reaching out to grab her phone back.

‘Unbelievable—this staffer actually snatched my phone!‘ Xylia fumed, feeling her anger boiling over.

But the staff member just stepped back, holding the phone up in triumph. “You broke our artifact and now you’re trying to cause a scene? I’m calling the curator–don’t think you can talk your way out of this!”

“Give me my phone back, right now!” Xylia demanded furiously.

Xylia took two urgent steps after her, ready to snatch her phone from the staff member’s grip.

The staff member backed up two steps, and Xylia missed entirely, grabbing at nothing.

But Richard wasn’t having it. He strode forward with purpose, snatching Xylia’s phone straight out of the staff member’s grip.

Richard fixed the staff member with a piercing stare, ice cold and layered with threat. The chill in his eyes actually made her shrink back a little.

“You won’t let her call the cops, but you’re bringing in the curator instead? What, trying to pin this on her for your own convenience?” Richard’s voice cut through the air, sharp and unforgiving.

The staff member’s gaze faltered, suddenly unable to meet his eyes.

Richard shook off the staff member’s grip and handed Xylia her phone.

He moved to stand just ahead of Xylia, shielding her with a quietly protective stance.

“Xylia, call the police,” Richard urged, voice unwavering.

Xylia barely reacted to the way Richard called her name. She pulled out her phone and dialed for help.

Once she hung up, she finally noticed Joshua had messaged her.

Joshua’s message popped onto her screen: [Stepped out to take a call, be right back.]

8:41 Thu, Sep 25 B

Chapter 279

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