Suddenly There Are Three (Bailey and Artemis) novel Chapter 498

Chapter 498

Just as Raiden was about to reply, Bailey preempted him.

“The emerald will not be destroyed. That is a certainty. You'll know once you've tried.”

“You...” Pointing a trembling finger at Bailey, the expert exploded, “You ignorant fool, you're going to destroy our nation's most precious heritage!”

“Fine.” Sniggering back at him, Bailey proclaimed nonchalantly, “If the real red emerald is ruined, I'm willing to pay for it with my life!”

“You—”

Bailey raised her hand to shut him up before shifting her attention to Lina. “This war is between both of us. Since a piece of trash like you has the cheek to come so far, what is there to be afraid of? After all, aren't you a master in antique appraisal?”

“W-Who says that I'm afraid?” Biting her lip, the seething Lina countered, “Fine. Go ahead and melt it. Bailey, you had better remember your words. If the red emerald is destroyed because of your lapse in judgment, the consequences will be yours to bear!”

Now that both of them had come to an agreement, everyone else's opinion was moot.

They, too, were curious to know whether the thousand-year-old ancient emerald would be able to withstand the extreme heat of the melting pot.

A short while later, four workers brought in two melting pots.

As Lina's fists were clenched tightly, sweat began to ooze out of her palms. Even her forehead had cold sweat beading off it.

The emerald she appraised a few days ago was fake and would undeniably melt in the pot.

Hence, her only hope was that Bailey's emerald was a fake too. Once it liquefied in the heat, she would be able to accuse the latter of making a wrong judgment.

After all, destroying a national treasure by mistake was a crime no one, including the Luther family, could absolve her of.

With that thought in mind, she heaved a sigh of relief.

“Mr. Fletcher, the melting pots have reached their maximum temperature. We can load the emeralds into them now.”

Instead of responding, Raiden turned to Bailey to await further instructions.

Curling her lips into a smile, Bailey sauntered up to the melting pot and threw in the red emerald she was fiddling with. Her movements were deft as she showed no hesitation at all.

Meanwhile, Lina felt her eyelids twitch as the ominous feeling within her increased in intensity.

She looks really calm, as if victory is within her grasp. Can it be... No, No... I shouldn't scare myself. Perhaps she's just trying to scare me off on purpose?

“Ms. Young, why are you hesitating? Just admit that your emerald is a fake if you do not have the guts to throw it in. I'll forgive you this once.”

The words caused the wavering Lina to flare her temper.

“Fine, I'll throw it in. I'm not going to believe the nonsense you're spewing. At more than a thousand Celsius, anything would turn into ash. You should instead prepare yourself for prison.”

The moment she finished, she threw the emerald she evaluated into the burning pot.

All that was left now was to wait for the results.