Jadee, one of Vincent's notable works, was small yet exquisite. It was about the size of a thumb. When it was put up for bidding in the auction, Bill managed to acquire it for just 1.2 million dollars, which was a steal compared to Vincent's other prominent masterpieces.

It was one in a million, and now, it was missing. Bill couldn't believe that such a precious jade piece would simply be misplaced. Someone must have taken it!

The atmosphere in the living room immediately became a little awkward.

Of course, Bill was upset. Although they were substantially rich, one million dollars was still a fortune to them.

“Sir, Madam, I don't want to speculate... But is it possible that Jadee was stolen?”

At this time, Lily broke the silence and offered an explanation heavy with implication.

Noticing that she captured everyone's attention, she continued slowly, “It's just as Mr. Jenkins said-Jadee couldn't have just gone missing just Like that. If someone stole it, then maybe we can still find it. I swear I'm innocent. You can search me and my room."

Bill didn't hesitate to wave his hand dismissively. "No, that won't be necessary. You're one of the highest-rated maids the Sheffield housekeeping center recommended. They swore to us that you're clean as a whistle. Besides, you've worked for us for several years now, and we've never lost anything before. If you were to steal something, you would've done it long ag—"

Just then, a thought suddenly occurred to him. "But Maria... Where is that girl?"

Seeing that her plan was sailing so smoothly, Lily couldn‘t help but secretly grin smugly.

She then pointed at the door and explained, “Miss Maria got up earlier than me this morning. When I got up, she was already practicing some sort of martial art in the yard."

Lily spoke casually, but there was a deliberate insinuation that the others couldn't miss.

As expected, the Jenkins family immediately Latched onto that important piece of information: Maria had gotten up earlier than Lily, which meant that she was the prime suspect.

If everyone else was still asleep at the time, Maria could've easily stolen the jade from Vivian's bag.

“It has to be her! There's nobody else who could've done it! She's the only one new in this household!"

Eyes wide and agitated, Vivian couldn't maintain her composure and started to shout anxiously.

She pointed at the door, yelling at Maria to come back.

But the entire villa was soundproofed from the outside. Maria didn't hear a peep and simply continued practicing karate out in the yard.

"Hmm... She doesn't look guilty." Julie narrowed her eyes and watched Maria's movements from the window. “She Looks so relaxed for someone who's supposedly committed a crime. Perhaps we're being too hasty in accusing her of being the thief."

Bill also looked out the window intently. After a while, he nodded in agreement. "Vivian, your mother's right. If Maria was guilty, I don't think she'd have stayed behind. She would've run away as soon as she got the chance."

Vivian, on the other hand, was unconvinced. She hissed through gritted teeth, "That just means this isn't the first time she's done this. She could just be acting, right? Isn't that even scarier? Clearly, she doesn't feel guilty at all!"

Vivian's words made sense to her father. Bill cleared his throat and announced, “Well, I won't rest until we get to the bottom of this. I won't tolerate such behavior in this household!"

Eventually, they asked Lily to call Maria inside.

Soon, Maria trotted into the Living room, still sweating profusely from her workout. Her wet hair was plastered to her face, but she didn't look embarrassed in the slightest. In fact, the disheveled look added to her charm.

“Maria, there's something we need to ask you-"