Crime & Punishment

Amelia wondered if she misheard. She squinted in Matteo's direction, but he merely pursed his lips and kept quiet. The venue lights must have been strong if it left him with a slight flush on his cheeks. 

"Excuse me? I didn't quite catch that," Amelia said hesitantly. 

Matteo cleared his throat and looked away. "Never mind then, it's nothing important."

"Alright. If you say so, Mr. Montgomery," Amelia replied agreeably enough. 

There was no way someone like him would be alright with her using his name. If Matteo didn't find Kelsie attractive, he must not be attracted to women at all! 

There was a tiny pang in her heart at the thought of such a man being unavailable for women. Matteo was kind and respectful, and he seemed to have a strong sense of justice. He would make a good husband for any woman out there.

The both of them stood in the hallway, and Amelia was beginning to feel the slightest bit awkward at the burgeoning silence. 

Just before she was about to ask if it was possible for her to change out of the dress, it was broken by the sound of the auctioneer running towards them, his sweaty forehead and panting chest visible from the other end of the hallway. 

"Mr. Montgomery! Thank goodness you're still here! We found the flute!" the auctioneer exclaimed, and Amelia jumped in surprise, while Matteo turned and frowned. 

"Where was it?" Matteo demanded. "And where's the culprit?" He peered behind the auctioneer, half-expecting him to be hauling the person responsible.

"Follow me, please, this way. We have her secured," he said hurriedly, and he led them down a few corridors, to a room with the words 'STAFF ONLY' on the door. There were two security guards flanking it and they bowed politely in their presence. 

"I trust there have been no escape attempts?" 

"None, Mr. Giovanni," one of the guards answered. "But the girl is making a lot of noise, claiming that she's innocent." 

Amelia and Matteo exchanged a curious glance. The thief was a woman? 

They entered the room and were greeted with a scene of chaos. There was one woman who lay on the floor, hysterically weeping on the tiles, her long hair loose and messy. Plastered at the other side of the room were her other co-workers, who were staring at her in disgust and pity. There were also security guards in the room, and they stood around a particular opened locker protectively.

"Mr. Giovanni!" 

The guards parted to reveal the jade flute, haphazardly thrown into the side of a messy locker as though that would have been enough to disguise its luster. A frown crossed Amelia's face; how could her mother's prized possession be treated so callously by someone who attempted to steal it? 

Matteo stormed towards the locker and plucked out the flute carefully, holding it to the light to check for flaws, his eyes deadly focused underneath the harsh lights of the locker room. 

Amelia marveled at his concentration; she was finding it tough to focus when her ears were continuously assaulted by the relentless cries from the woman on the floor. They had promptly increased in volume when she caught sight of the auctioneer. 

"Mr. Giovanni! Please! I'm innocent! You have to believe me!" The woman wailed, the very image of heartbroken grief. "I would never steal something like this!" 

A muscle twitched in Giovanni's jaw as he heard her desperate pleas. He wanted nothing more than to shut this idiot bitch up! Her screaming was disturbing Mr. Matteo's appraisal of the flute― the five-million-dollar flute she had the nerve to steal right under their very noses! 

If not for the fact there were so many pairs of eyes on him at that very moment, he would have eagerly slammed her face against her own locker. 

"Shut up!" Giovanni yelled. "I've already called the police, and they'll deal with you shortly. To think you would destroy your sister's good reputation like this, you're despicable!"

"Sister?" Amelia asked, and Giovanni elaborated. 

"This woman is Gina. I only hired her because her sister swore she was a hard worker who would give me no problems. Gracie had never given me issues in all these years of employment, so I trusted her judgment," Giovanni snarled. "Now, I have half a mind to fire her as well!" 

"No!" Gina slammed her entire body on the floor, reaching out to grab Giovannie's legs. Tears and snot streamed down her face, forming a pitiful picture. "Mr Giovanni, I've been framed… I would never… I'm just a college student, how could I dare to steal a flute? Please… please believe me!"

"Who would want to frame a college student like you?" Matteo's cold voice echoed throughout the room, putting an end to her sobs.

"I… I… Please… I don't know… but I didn't do it! I swear!"

Gina's eyes darted back to the floor. She dared not meet this man's eyes. He seemed the epitome of danger, and she had a feeling one wrong word would mean her immediate death!

"Let the police investigations decide that," Mr. Giovanni declared hotly, before turning to bow to Matteo. "Mr. Montgomery, I'm terribly sorry that you had to witness this turn of events. We will do our utmost best to make up for this lapse in security."

"See that you do," Matteo said evenly. "Because of this incident, I've found a few scratches on the flute. How do you intend to compensate me for the damages?" 

"Com― Compensate…" Giovanni paled, sensing his profits going up in smoke. But still, losing his profit margin was vastly preferable to losing his entire auction catalog and his professional reputation. "Yes. Of course, we can compensate you for the monetary value lost. Can we discuss this over―"

"No need," Matteo cut in curtly. "I'm not interested in your money."

"Then what else do you want?" Giovanni asked helplessly, dabbing his sweaty temples with his handkerchief. Short of money, he had no idea what else he could offer. 

"I want you to blacklist Caleb Walton and Kelsie Friesent from all future auction events," Matteo said, and Amelia's mouth fell open at the audacity of such a request. Was that even possible?

If Giovanni was pale before, he was positively ashen now.

"Blacklist?! Mr Montgomery, that's impossible!" Giovanni spluttered. "Think about it, they are also our clients, we can't just―"

"You can, and you will," Matteo growled out.