Chapter 502: Case Penalty

The word made the salesperson raise an eyebrow. This place dealt with rare antiques and luxury pieces. A simple necklace didn’t sound promising.

“Let me see it,” she said, stretching out her hand with a hint of impatience, already expecting to turn down Bianca immediately.

Bianca let out a quiet sigh. She pulled a box from her purse and gave it to the salesperson.

The salesperson opened it without much interest.

But when she saw what was inside, her eyes widened in shock.

“Geeze!”

Her whole attitude changed in an instant. She quickly came out from behind the desk, handed Bianca a glass of lemonade, and led her to a nearby sofa.

“Miss, please wait here for a moment. I’ll call one of our expert appraisers to assist you.”

“Okay, thank you.”

Once Bianca was settled, the salesperson rushed back to the desk. She picked up the phone and made a quick call.

Not long after, a well-dressed woman with bold makeup walked out, followed by two men in suits.

As soon as the salesperson saw the woman, she quickly approached them with a respectful look.

“This is the client I mentioned,” the salesperson said.

Bianca stood up when she saw the general manager walk over. She didn’t expect this kind of treatment.

“Hello,” Bianca said politely.

The general manager smiled and replied, “Hi there. I’m the general manager of Prosper Pawnshop. What’s your name?”

“Bianca Scott.”

“Very well, Miss Scott. May I see the item you’d like to pawn?”

Bianca gave a small nod. She handed the box, which she had just taken back from the salesperson, to the general manager.

The manager opened it. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw what was inside.

She let out a breath. “There are only two red diamonds like this in the world. One of them was once sold at an auction for one billion. It made headlines. I’ve heard all about it, and I’m excited to see it in person.”

“So, you already know what it is,” Bianca said.

A bittersweet smile appeared on Bianca’s face.

“Miss Scott, please come with me,” the general manager said.

She led Bianca into the VIP reception room. Inside, the appraisers examined the red diamond and looked even more pleased after checking it.

“Miss, what amount would you like to set for pawning this red diamond? We’ll calculate the interest rate based on that.”

Bianca thought for a moment, then said, “Five hundred million.”

“You could pawn it for up to eight hundred million. Are you sure you only want five hundred million?”

“That will be enough.” Bianca knew that the more she borrowed, the higher the interest would be.

Five hundred million was enough to save her company.

“Okay, we’ll take care of the rest for you now.”

Once it was all settled, Bianca walked out of the pawnshop, feeling a mix of emotions.

Right after Bianca left, the general manager pulled out her phone with excitement and made a call.

The person on the other end answered with a tired voice, “Don't you know there’s a time difference? What is it?”

The general manager paused, a bit embarrassed. She had forgotten about that.

In a soft voice, she said, “I’ve got the red diamond you were looking for.”

****

Dave didn’t get the chance to call Wyatt until noon. He wanted to ask about Bianca’s lawsuit over her contract.

Soon after, Wyatt called him back with an update.

“Miss Scott lost the case.”

Dave stopped writing. His eyes widened in shock. “What did you just say?”

Bianca’s case was supposed to be simple. Reece was in charge, and everything looked in her favor. Losing didn’t make sense.

Until now, Dave hadn’t been paying much attention to the court updates. But hearing that Bianca lost shocked him. How could that happen?

Wyatt picked up on his reaction and said, “It’s true. I checked with several sources. Sadly, there was a flaw in her defense. It’s already all over the news. I sent you the article. You should take a look.”

After they ended the call, Dave looked at his phone. The news confirmed it. Bianca had lost and now had to pay a huge penalty.

He pushed everything else aside. After a brief pause, he called Reece.

In his office, Reece was busy with paperwork. He stopped when he saw Dave’s name on the screen.

Reece guessed Dave would ask about Bianca’s case.

He let the phone ring and didn’t pick up.

After a few tries with no answer, Dave’s brows pulled into a frown.

He gave up and called Bianca instead.

Just as the phone started ringing, Bianca stepped into her apartment. She had just come back from pawning the necklace.

A small wave of guilt hit her.

She took a breath and picked up the call, trying to sound normal.

“Hello, Dave. What’s up?”

“Bianc, I heard your case didn’t go well. What happened?”

Dave’s voice was full of concern. Hearing that, Bianca couldn’t hold back anymore.

She told him everything—how Reece had lied and set her up.

Dave froze. His fists clenched in anger. “How dare he?”

He couldn’t understand why Reece would do that. What he didn’t know was that Lucas had pressured Reece behind the scenes. Bianca knew about it, but she chose not to tell him.

Telling Dave about Lucas would only make things worse. It could hurt his ties with Lucas and cause trouble for Phoenix Alliance Group.

“What’s the penalty?” Dave asked. His tone was calm but firm. “I’ll cover it.”

Bianca knew he meant it. But she also knew from Lucas that Dave’s company was dealing with problems too. She didn’t want to add to it.

“No, thanks. I can handle it,” she said, keeping her voice gentle.

Dave raised an eyebrow. “That’s a big amount. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Bianca let out a small laugh. “Don’t worry about me. If it gets too hard, I’ll come to you. But for now, I’ve handled it already.”

Dave believed in her. He didn’t push. “Just promise me one thing—don’t shut me out, alright?”

“Okay,” Bianca said quietly.

After the call ended, Dave’s face darkened. His anger was clear.

He told Wyatt to get the car ready. They drove straight to Reece’s law firm.

Reece had just finished packing and was about to leave when he saw Dave walk in with a serious expression.

Reece froze instantly. Fear crept in as he realized he was alone. Dave’s personal guards stood around him, ready to move at any moment.

“You’ve really gotten my attention, Reece,” Dave said coldly, his eyes full of disgust.