The Rich and Furious Son-in-law - Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Is It You or Me Who Is Blind?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ryan smiled at Lumi. “It doesn’t matter, Lumi, as long as you are with me.”
He did not care about how others looked at him.
If Lumi wished so, he would make sure no one at the scene could get away. Besides, he had read the personal files that Archer sent him. None of these people—Lumi’s second uncle Anthony, the third uncle Jonathan, aunt Lilian, the first uncle, and Raymond—were clean.
Every dirty secret of these people was deadly, the kind that could keep them in prison for the rest of their lives.
All Ryan needed to deal with these people was just to say a few words.
Ryan only started to speak when everyone had finished badmouthing him. “Have you all said enough? If it weren’t for the sake of Lumi and Lumi’s Grandpa, you all would have died thousands of times over.”
He knew very well that he was not boasting.
At the bar yesterday, he had summoned a D-Level reinforcement team led by Preston Parker, one of the two overlords of Saltband City. Such a behemoth force was simply not something the Mears family could afford to offend.
Not to mention that there were Level-C and -B above Level-D support.
But Raymond and others did not know Ryan’s actual background. “You trash from the garbage dump, Ryan! Being arrogant will not save you. Can you see that this is a unanimous opinion of the Mears family; you are not welcome here. Stop clinging to my elder sister. Take your broken earrings and get out!”
While speaking, Raymond threw the earrings to the floor of the living room. The earrings bounced twice on the floor before stopping at the entrance. The surprising thing was, they did not suffer any damage.
“Someone, kick this guy out of the house!” Raymond shouted at the bodyguards outside the door.
But as soon as his voice trailed off, an old man with a gray beard stepped through the door with a staff in his hand, his forceful voice instantly reverberating throughout the living room. “The kid of the Mears family is getting ruder by the day. He already wants to kick me out before I even came in.”
While speaking, the old man picked up the earrings by his feet and glanced at them casually. He rubbed the earrings with his fingers, and a hesitant look flashed in his eyes. He then looked down at the earrings again, and his expression changed drastically.
At this time, Grandma, who had been sitting all this time quietly, quickly got to her feet. “Robert, I am happy that you have come. Please come inside.”
“Don’t be angry, Mr. Franklin. I didn’t mean it just now,” Raymond quickly said.
Robert Franklin appeared gentle and elegant. He was an antique expert and collector. His expertise in appraising antiques had earned him his reputation as the number one antique expert in Valeska.
He had extensive personal connections throughout Valeska. There were always some bigwigs receiving him wherever he went. He even had close friendships with those bigwigs in Arkala.
So he was a figure that the Mears family did not want to offend.
He attended the birthday party of Lumi’s grandma because of his close friendship with the late grandpa.
Standing at the door, Robert looked at the blood-red earrings in his hand. The longer he looked at the earrings, the more he was shocked. At last, he took out a magnifying glass and studied it for a long time, completely ignoring Raymond and Grandma.
After dozens of seconds, Robert looked at Grandma with her with elation. “Where did you get these earrings from? Why did you throw them to the floor just like that?”
Seeing Robert’s reaction, Raymond and Grandma’s heart skipped a beat. They all knew about Robert’s passion for antiques. Since he had looked at the earrings for so long, it meant that these earrings were something.
Grandma glanced at Raymond, and Raymond got the hint. “Mr. Franklin, it was Ryan who bought these earrings off the street. It is embarrassing.” He paused and shot a glare at Ryan. “What are you doing here? Get the hell out of here!”
But Robert’s lips curled up in a smile. With the earrings still in his hand, his face turned solemn as he looked at Raymond. “Bought off the street? Do the descendants of the Mears know nothing, not even recognizing a star ruby?”
Just now, Raymond shouted toward the door. Although he did not mean to direct it at Robert Franklin, the fact that Robert Franklin was at the door made it the most inappropriate thing to do. It was a matter of course that Robert had felt a little offended.
So Robert sounded a little pissed. But Raymond had to grind and bear it in front of Robert, however indignant he was. “Are you sure it is star ruby, Mr. Franklin?”
There was an instant uproar when everyone heard the earrings were of star ruby.
Everyone knew how valuable a star ruby was, although they were not expert in the field. A piece of a typical star ruby was worth at least tens of millions, let alone a pair of earrings, which would double in price.
From where Ryan got such a gem?
As Raymond was doubtful of what Robert had said, Robert squinted at him. “Is it you or me who are blind? Are you questioning my expertise?”
Robert had been in the business for fifty years and had never misjudged. No one had ever doubted his expertise in the entire Valeska.
It was not an exaggeration to say that if Robert Franklin said an antique was real, it would be deemed real even if it was fake, and vice versa.
“Shut up, Raymond. Don’t interrupt when the elders are talking.” Grandma sensed something amiss with the atmosphere and quickly intervened. She then ushered Robert in with enthusiasm. “Mr. Franklin, please come in. Please forgive my idiot grandson. He knows nothing.”
Robert Franklin held up a hand as he came in. “Don’t worry about it.”
Robert stopped in front of Ryan and smiled at him. “It was so generous of you. This pair of star ruby earrings is worth at least thirty million dollars. You gave it away just like this?”
Everyone gasped in disbelief as soon as Robert’s voice trailed off.
Thirty million dollars?
That was crazy.
Ryan had lied about it.
He said that the earrings were worth hundreds of thousands, but Robert said it was thirty million dollars. That was hundreds of times different.
Ryan rubbed his nose and looked at Robert with a smile. “It is just a token of appreciation for the elders.” In fact, he was stunned, too. Apparently, Preston had under-reported the value.
Lumi standing next to him was equally shocked. It was thirty million dollars, not three thousand dollars.
She tried to put things in perspective. Ryan had asked his ‘classmate’ to inject thirty million dollars into her company. And now, he came up with a pair of thirty-million-dollar earrings. She started to feel she knew less and less about Ryan.
Robert nodded. Dangling the earrings in front of his eyes, he smiled at Grandma. “You have a good grandson-in-law, so blessed.” He paused for a second, then looked at Ryan. “But as far as I know, Ryan, this pair of star ruby earrings is one of a kind in the Southwest. Preston Parker bought them from an auction. I wonder how come it is now in your hands.”
While speaking, he squinted his eyes.
The auction of the thirty-million-dollar star ruby earrings at Valeska Antique Auction Center had caused quite a stir in the antique industry.
Everyone knew that the star ruby earrings belonged to Preston Parker, the godfather in Saltband City. But now they were in Ryan’s hands. He had to get to the bottom of the matter.
Otherwise, the Mears family would be in big trouble.
Lumi’s heart skipped a beat when she heard the name Preston Parker. Ryan told her yesterday that he got the earrings from a friend. Could it be that the friend he had mentioned was Preston Parker?
Preston Parker was not someone whom the Mearses had access to. So since when did Ryan know Preston Parker?
Raymond came to his senses as soon as Robert’s voice trailed off, his facial expression changing. “That’s why I say, how could such a loser get such a gem? He must have stolen it! It is stolen. This jinx is going to bring calamity to the Mears family. I suggest, Grandma, we should immediately expel Ryan from the Mears family.”
