A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 56: Did You Just Hit Me?!

Chapter 56: Did You Just Hit Me?!

Natasha switched her attention to him and slightly bowed her head.

"Father, the royal necklace you bestowed on me has gone missing."

Her eyes were twitching as though the sudden welled-up tears in them would slip any moment from then on.

Ryan was shocked. Not just him, but the whole family as well, excluding Draven and Valentine, who looked as though they already expected it.

Avelina, who had absolutely no idea of the royal necklace, glanced around in confusion. Was it very important? She wondered, considering that Natasha looked as though she could cry anytime soon.

Old Master Lenort’s expression turned ashen. "What do you mean by that? Where and how did you lose it? Who took it?"

"I didn’t lose it, Father. Someone stole it," Natasha replied, the tears in her eyes starting to drop.

Old Master Lenort asked with a raised brow, "And do you know who took it?"

"Yes, Father." Natasha balled her hands into tight fists before abruptly pointing at Avelina. "She is the one who stole it!"

The whole family was once again aghast at her words. They all diverted their gazes to Avelina, a look of contempt flashing in their eyes.

Avelina paused for a moment, heavily confused. Why did she just get accused of stealing?

She looked at Natasha.

"What are you talking about? I never took any of your belongings," she said and glanced at Draven.

But Draven’s attention was fixated on Natasha and the maid who stood beside her.

"Do you have evidence that my wife stole your necklace?" he asked calmly.

Natasha diverted her intent towards him.

"Yes, brother-in-law. Rather than evidence, I have a witness." She referred to Laila. "My maid Laila has reported to me that early this morning, while completing her duty, she had seen your wife snooping around the royal mansion, specifically at the door of my room."

"So... It could only be your wife. She. Is. The. Culprit." The last sentence was emphasized.

Draven immediately disagreed. "That is not solid enough evidence. One witness is not enough. I mean, she could be lying. There is no one else available to back up her claim, and—"

"Why don’t we check in your room, brother-in-law? Since you are so sure that your wife isn’t a thief, I believe you don’t have a problem with that, or... do you?" Natasha’s face crumpled sadly as she taunted. "It is the only way to settle this."

She turned her head to gaze at Old Master Lenort and implored, "Please, Father. That necklace is very precious to me. It is the only gift that I have ever received from you."

Old Master Lenort acknowledged her plea in a terse manner. He took a moment to think it over before standing up from his chair.

"Everyone, follow me." He began to walk away towards Draven’s quarter.

The rest reluctantly followed behind him. True, they don’t like Avelina, but...surely she couldn’t have stolen Natasha’s necklace, right? Well, there was only one way to find out...

"Draven... are you going to let them do this?" Avelina asked in thorough confusion.

Draven, on the other hand, did not utter a word. He simply grabbed her by the wrist and began to walk toward his quarter.

Upon arrival, Santino, who stood guard at the door, slightly bowed. "Greetings, your royal highnesses."

His face had perplexity written all over it. For the whole family, including the old master himself, to suddenly storm to his young master’s quarter at such a time, something must have happened.

Old Master Lenort gave a nod of acknowledgment and called for the maids.

"Search the room for a golden royal necklace," he ordered.

Avelina immediately lifted her head to glance at Draven and tugged on his shirt. "Are you going to allow this?" she whispered.

"Relax," was Draven’s response.

Everyone waited patiently as the search commenced. The maids were careful enough not to break anything, as they could not bear the third prince’s wrath.

A minute or two passed, and one of the maids suddenly clamored. "I have found it!" She hurried to Old Master Lenort and handed the necklace over to him.

Old Master Lenort examined the jewelry and slowly nodded in confirmation. "It is indeed the necklace."

He gave it to Natasha and turned around to face Avelina. "Why did you steal it?"

"What?" Avelina did not know whether to laugh or cry. "I didn’t steal anything! I didn’t even know how this necklace looked until—"

Before her sentence could be completed, the angry-looking Natasha stormed towards her and heavily landed a slap on her right cheek.

"You lying piece of shit!" Natasha cursed. "Of course, you did steal it. Aren’t you the only one who was awake in the morning? My god, you humans are something else!" She laughed as though fed up.

The rest of the family was momentarily appalled, as they had not expected her to hit Avelina.

Draven, whose eyes had instantly sparked with abrupt displeasure, moved to act, but he was stopped when Avelina stepped forward.

"You called me a lying piece of shit?" Avelina asked and laughed.

Before Natasha could even anticipate or respond, Avelina slapped her so hard that, for a moment, she felt as though she had seen stars twinkle in her eyes. The mark of Avelina’s hand was also drawn on her right cheek.

Everyone’s eyes widened, and a startled gasp fled from the daughters-in-laws. Draven drew his head back, having not expected Avelina to stand up for herself.

Natasha screamed at the top of her lungs. "Did you just hit me?" Her chest was rising and falling in disbelief. Her pupils were also dilated.

"Oh, yes, I did, and I am not done yet." Avelina went ahead to grab her by the hair and slap her left cheek with the back of her hand. Now, Natasha had ten reddish marks from her fingers on her face.

"You called me a lying piece of shit, but you could be the liar here. Yes, everyone was asleep, and I was strolling the royal grounds, but what about you?" Avelina asked. "Are you trying to say that you had no notice of a mere human like me while I was stealing your necklace? Please, be for real, because you sound very stupid."

"Yes, yes, you hate humans, blah blah blah, but you should keep in mind that I am not the kind of human that you can step on. The next time you raise your scrawny hand at me, I will do worse than this, you bloody bitch!" Her words carried a heavy weight of threat.