Betrayed Spotlight
Chapter 35: Reckoning

Chapter 35: Reckoning

The temperature in the store seemed to drop by several degrees. Mason’s presence filled the room like a storm cloud, and suddenly everyone seemed to forget how to breathe properly.

Miss Wen’s raised hand froze mid-air, her face pale as she recognized the man who had just entered. Manager Han took an involuntary step backward, her professional smile cracking like thin ice.

"Mr. Liu?" Manager Han whispered, her voice barely audible.

Mason’s eyes moved slowly from the scattered money on the floor to Miss Wen’s raised hand, then to Sarah’s unruly expression. His face remained perfectly calm, but there was something in his dark eyes that made everyone in the room want to disappear.

"I asked a question," Mason said quietly, his voice carrying the kind of authority that made grown men tremble. "What is going on here?"

Miss Wen’s hand slowly lowered to her side. She tried to compose herself, but her voice shook slightly when she spoke.

"Mason, I... I didn’t know you were here. This woman," she gestured at Sarah, "was being completely unreasonable. She threw money at me and—"

"She threw money at you?" Mason interrupted, his tone deceptively mild. He looked at Sarah with raised eyebrows. "That’s interesting."

"Mason, I_" Sarah began, but Mason raised a hand.

"Later," Mason said. His attention turned back to Miss Wen. "Continue, Miss Wen. You were saying?"

Miss Wen straightened her shoulders, trying to regain her composure. "This woman was attempting to try on a ring worth two million yuan. I simply pointed out that she clearly couldn’t afford such an expensive piece, and she became hostile."

"Hostile," Mason repeated thoughtfully. He walked over to where the scattered money lay on the floor, his expensive shoes clicking against the marble. "And what gave you the impression that she couldn’t afford it?"

"Well, look at her," Miss Wen said, gesturing dismissively at Sarah. "Her clothes, her demeanor. She’s obviously not from our social circle."

Mason nodded slowly, as if considering this. "Our social circle. That’s an interesting phrase, Miss Wen. Tell me, what exactly is your social circle?"

Miss Wen lifted her chin proudly. "My husband owns three jewelry stores in Wuhan. My family has been in the luxury business for generations. We’re well-known in the city’s high society."

"Ah," Mason nodded, his voice taking on a tone that made everyone in the room nervous. "Three jewelry stores. That’s... quaint."

The word ’quaint’ remained in the atmosphere like a blade. Miss Wen’s confident expression began to falter.

"Do you know who I am, Miss Wen?" Mason asked conversationally, picking up one of the scattered bills and examining it.

"Of course," Miss Wen said, though her voice was less steady now. "You’re Mason Liu. Who wouldn’t know of such a man like you?" She bowed slightly.

"Good," Mason said, nodding approvingly. "Then you know that I don’t appreciate it when people disrespect what belongs to me."

The implication hit Miss Wen like a physical blow. Her face went white as she realized what Mason was saying.

"She... she belongs to you?" Miss Wen whispered.

Mason’s eyes grew cold. "She is my wife. My wife, Miss Wen. And you raised your hand to strike my wife in a public place."

The silence that followed was deafening. Manager Han looked like she might faint. Even the security guards at the entrance seemed to sense the danger and had moved closer.

"I... I didn’t know," Miss Wen stammered. "Mr. Liu, I swear I didn’t know she was your wife. If I had known—"

"If you had known, you would have treated her with respect," Mason finished. "But you didn’t know, so you treated her like garbage. That tells me everything I need to know about your character."

He turned to Manager Han, who was standing frozen behind the counter.

"You," Mason said pleasantly, "how long have you been working at this store?"

"I just started a month ago, Mr. Liu," Manager Han replied, her voice shaking.

"One month," Mason repeated. "And in this one month, how much money would you say my organization has spent in this store?"

Manager Han’s face went ashen. Everyone in the city knew about Mason’s ’organization’ and the kind of money it generated. "I... I don’t have the exact figures..."

"Would you say it’s more than the Wen family has spent?" Mason asked.

"Yes, sir. Much more."

Mason nodded thoughtfully. "And yet, when my wife came into this store, you treated her like she was some kind of peasant who had wandered in off the street. Is that the kind of service I should expect from a store where my grandmother and family members spend millions of yuan?"

"No, sir," Manager Han whispered. "I’m so sorry, Mr. Liu. I didn’t recognize—"

"You didn’t recognize her because you didn’t bother to ask who she was," Mason interrupted. "You made assumptions based on appearances. That’s not good business, Manager Han."

He walked over to Miss Wen.

"This ring," Mason said, picking it up. "My wife wanted to try it on. Instead, she was humiliated and told she couldn’t afford it."

Miss Wen’s hand instinctively went to the ring, which was still on her finger. "Mr. Liu, please, I can explain—"

"Take it off," Mason said quietly.

Miss Wen’s hands shook as she struggled to remove the ring. It seemed to have gotten stuck on her finger in her panic.

"I said take it off," Mason repeated, his voice dropping to a whisper that was somehow more terrifying than if he had shouted.

With a desperate effort, Miss Wen managed to pull the ring off her finger. Mason took it from her and walked over to Sarah.

"Give me your hand," he said softly.

Sarah extended her hand, and Mason gently slipped the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly, the diamonds catching the light.

"Beautiful," Mason said, admiring how the ring looked on Sarah’s hand. "We’ll take it."

"Of course, Mr. Liu," Manager Han said quickly. "I’ll wrap it up immediately."

"No need," Mason said. "She’ll wear it out."

He turned back to Miss Wen, who was standing frozen in the middle of the store.

"Miss Wen," Mason said conversationally, "I’m curious about something. You said your husband owns three jewelry stores in Wuhan. Which ones?"

Miss Wen’s voice was barely audible. "Golden Dragon Jewelry on Zhongshan Avenue, Precious Gems on Jianghan Road, and Luxury Treasures in the Wanda Plaza."

Mason nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting locations. Prime real estate, I imagine. The rent must be quite expensive."

"Yes," Miss Wen whispered, suddenly understanding where this was going.

"And I assume your husband has loans from various banks to maintain his inventory and operations?"

Miss Wen nodded, unable to speak.

Mason smiled, but it was not a pleasant smile. "Business can be so unpredictable, can’t it? One day you’re successful, the next day you’re struggling to make ends meet. Landlords can be difficult, banks can be impatient, and suppliers can be unreliable. So many things can go wrong."

"Mr. Liu, please," Miss Wen, or more like Mrs. Wen, said, her voice breaking. "I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know who she was. I’ll apologize to her right now."

Mason looked at her with cold amusement. "You’ll apologize to her? How generous of you. But I’m afraid it’s too late for apologies, Miss Wen. You see, in my line of work, reputation is everything. And when someone disrespects my wife, they’re disrespecting me. I can’t let that slide."

He pulled out his phone and made a quick call. "It’s me. I need you to look into the Wen family’s business operations. Golden Dragon Jewelry, Precious Gems, and Luxury Treasures. I want a full report by tomorrow morning."

Mrs. Wen’s legs gave out, and she sank into one of the store’s elegant chairs. "Mason, please. I have children. My family depends on those stores."

"You should have thought about that before you decided to humiliate my wife," Mason said coldly. "But don’t worry, Miss Wen. I’m not unreasonable. I’ll give you a choice."

Miss Wen looked up at him with desperate hope. "What choice?"

Mason gestured to the money scattered on the floor. "You can get on your hands and knees and pick up every single bill that you forced my wife to throw. While you do that, you can apologize to her properly. And then you can promise me that you’ll never set foot in this store again."

"And if I do that?" Miss Wen asked.

"If you do that, I’ll consider letting your husband’s businesses continue operating," Mason said. "But if you refuse, or if I ever hear about you disrespecting anyone else in this city, your family will find out just how difficult business can become when you cross the wrong people."

Miss Wen looked at the money on the floor, then at Sarah, then back at Mason. The choice was clear.

Without another word, she dropped to her hands and knees and began picking up the scattered bills. Tears streamed down her face as she crawled across the floor, her expensive dress getting dirty as she gathered the money.

"I’m sorry," she whispered to Sarah as she collected the bills. "I’m so sorry. I was wrong. I was terrible to you. Please forgive me."

Sarah watched this display with mixed emotions. Part of her felt vindicated, but another part felt almost sorry for the woman who had been so cruel to her just minutes before.

"I forgive you," Sarah said quietly.

Miss Wen finished collecting all the money and stood up, her dignity completely shattered. She handed the bills to Sarah with shaking hands.

"I promise I’ll never come back here," she said. "And I’ll never treat anyone the way I treated you again."

Mason nodded approvingly. "Good. Now leave."

Miss Wen hurried out of the store, her heels clicking frantically against the floors. The security guards opened the door for her, and she disappeared onto the street.

Mason turned to Manager Han, who was still standing frozen behind the counter.

"Manager Han," he said pleasantly, "I think we need to have a conversation about customer service training. My wife will be shopping here regularly, and I expect her to be treated with the respect she deserves."

"Of course, Mr. Liu," Manager Han said quickly. "I’ll personally ensure that she receives VIP treatment every time she visits."

"Excellent," Mason said. He turned to Sarah and offered her his arm. "Shall we go, Mrs. Liu?"

Sarah took his arm, still somewhat dazed by everything that had happened. "The ring," she said, looking down at the two-million-yuan piece of jewelry on her finger. "Shouldn’t we pay for it?"

Mason smirked genuinely for the first time since entering the store. "Manager Han will bill it to my account. Along with any other rings you might want to look at."

As they walked toward the exit, Sarah couldn’t help but feel a combination of emotions. She was grateful to Mason for defending her, but she was also slightly disturbed by the ruthless way he had handled Miss Wen.

"Mason," she said as they reached the door, "did you really mean what you said about her husband’s businesses?"

Mason looked down at her with an unreadable expression. "What do you think?"

Sarah studied his face and realized that she didn’t know the answer to that question. She was beginning to understand that there were depths to Mason that she had never imagined.

Mason nodded. "Fear is a powerful tool, Sarah. But it’s also a dangerous one. It can protect you, it can also isolate you."

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