As I shouted, many onlookers stopped walking and looked over at me.

“Is this for real? Why would such a big store do such a thing?”

“The bigger the store is, the more scheming they are. The price of gold is currently rising, and that’s pure profit! Who wouldn’t be tempted?”

“I’ll definitely avoid this place from now on.”

When other customers in the store saw it, they were also afraid of being overcharged. They immediately left the store, and the sales assistants could not stop them.

Lily glared at me.

I glared back at her confidently.

“I’ll be shouting here every single day until you refund my money. Let’s see who backs off first!”

Unexpectedly, she turned around and called the police on me. She said I was disturbing the public peace.

When the police car arrived, the crowd had grown substantially larger.

Lily played the victim and was the first to say, “She held a megaphone and shouted nonsense in front of our store. She defamed our store and disrupted our business.”

I directly took out the receipt from my bag, dated two weeks ago when I first bought the gold accessories.

“Officers, this store took my money, but they refused to give my gold to me. Now that I’m here, she said the gold price has increased and asked me to pay an extra $130,000.

“Their approach is exploitative, unethical, and fraudulent. This is a scam!”

The police took my receipt and prepared to question Lily.

Lily shouted, “The receipt she has was a fake one. Her purpose is to scam our money.”

As she said, she took a receipt from the counter and handed it to the police.

“This is our store’s official receipt. There’s a security watermark on every piece, but there isn’t one on her receipt. She forged hers.”

After the police carefully compared my receipt to the receipt given by Lily, they frowned and looked at me.

“Miss Lewis, the receipt you provided is fake.”

“No way!”

I grabbed the two receipts from the police and carefully compared them. There was a small watermark in the upper right corner on the receipt from Lily, while there was none on mine.

I instantly understood what had happened. Lily had set me up from the very beginning. No wonder she was so bold to call the police.

I immediately said, “Officers, I request to review the surveillance footage. The receipt can be forged, but the security footage can’t.

“That day, I was in the store selecting the gold accessories and making the payment, while she herself issued the invoice and promised to deliver it personally. The cameras must have recorded everything clearly.”

A sneer flashed in Lily’s eyes. “The surveillance system in our store had a damaged circuit three days ago, and many people know about it.”

She turned back and seriously said to the police, “Officers, Miss Lewis forged the receipt and tried to scam our store. Please take her back for investigation immediately.”

The onlookers looked at me with contempt.

“So it turns out that she was playing the victim while being the real thief!”

“Scammers are so bold nowadays. She actually had the guts to scam the store in broad daylight!”

“This lady looks so innocent, but she actually dares to do something like this. She must be punished strictly!”

Two police officers also moved toward me with handcuffs.

“Chloe Lewis, you have been suspected of using forged documents for attempted extortion. Please come with us to the station.”

I took out my phone and showed it to everyone.

“I didn’t scam anyone. I have a transaction record from the store owner’s account. You can just verify it now.”

At that moment, a black Mercedes sedan slowly stopped in front of the store, and the store owner got out of the car.

“I indeed have the transaction record that Miss Lewis transferred $1,350,000 to me.”

I finally calmed down slightly. I sized Bowie Gold up. He had an odd name, but he looked quite presentable on the outside.

Just recently, he had even called me. The ten-year lease was up, and the rents in the area had doubled.

He had whined over the phone about how tough business had been and begged me not to raise his rent.

This incident was likely just a problem of his poor management. As long as he fired the staff later and apologized to me properly, I would just let it slide.

Unexpectedly, he changed his tone and said, “But that money was actually a repayment for money that she borrowed from me. It’s not the payment for the gold.”

Lily flashed a prideful smile. She sidled up to Bowie and said with a coquettish tone, “Mr. Gold, luckily you’re here, or I could’ve been treated so unfairly.”

Bowie patted her butt.

“Rest assured. With me here, no one can bully my employees.”

I finally understood. These two people were in cahoots.

Lily had the nerve to boldly and openly scam me because her employer was backing her up!

Bowie looked at me with a smile on his face, but he spoke a warning.

“I’m a businessman. I run a store and make money in peace. Miss Lewis, if you realize your mistake and apologize to my staff now, I won’t look further into this matter.

“Otherwise, please make a trip to the police station!”

I spoke with a firm voice, “The two of you are conspiring together. You’ve taken $1,350,000 from me, and now you want me to apologize to you. Dream on!”

Bowie’s smile instantly stiffened.

“Are you saying that we conspired? If you can’t produce evidence, I’ll sue you for defamation!”

Lily also added to the scene by putting on an act.

“Miss Lewis, you forged a receipt. Our surveillance is broken. Now both my boss and I can prove that your transfer is merely a repayment to him.

“You have neither witnesses nor material evidence. If you apologize to me nicely now, I might even forgive you!”

I looked at the two of them, and I curled my lips into a scornful smirk.

“Who says I have no evidence? Today, I’m going to expose your true colors completely!”

I took out my phone, called my best friend, and asked her to send me the video of me choosing the bridal accessories and wedding dress.

My best friend had accompanied me that day when I bought the bridal accessories. She had said we must record such an important occasion for memory.

So, we had taken a hidden camera and recorded the entire process from me entering the store, choosing the bridal accessories, and making the payment.

When my best friend heard what I said, she was furious, and she immediately sent the video over.

I tapped it open and played it immediately for the police and the crowd.

“Feel free to take this video for verification and see for yourselves who among us is lying!”

Bowie and Lily were stunned. They had not expected me to have been recording that day.

Faced with such strong evidence, Bowie understood that if he kept looking further into the matter, it would only be disadvantageous to him.

He immediately patted himself on the forehead in an act of sudden realization.

“Look at my poor memory. The person who owes me money is also a Lewis, but spelled as L-O-U-I-S. That day I received the transfer, so I thought she had transferred it.”

He flashed a standard fake smile and looked at me.

“Miss Lewis, this was all just a misunderstanding. I’ll arrange for someone to deliver the gold accessories that you purchased to you now.”

I coldly rejected him.

“No need. I am now asking for a refund. Just return my money back to me!”

I no longer had any trust in his character. Those were my bridal accessories, which symbolized good fortune and joy. If I bought it from him, I worried that it would bring bad luck.

Bowie looked at me and the police before he said, “We businessmen have our principles. All sales are final. Miss Lewis, if you want a refund, we can only offer you a scrap gold buyback at a reduced value.

“Since our store made a mistake this time, I’m willing to cover the loss for you. But Miss Lewis, you must agree to let this matter end here. Don’t pursue any further action against anyone involved!”

Ha! I had not expected him to still insist on protecting Lily.

But he was wrong. I was not just out for Lily’s blood; I was also out for his.

The two police officers looked at me and asked me if I accepted this settlement proposal.

Pursuing legal actions against them would take time and effort. If they deliberately delayed the proceedings, the lawsuit could drag on for a year or more. At that time, it would be unknown whether I could still get back my money.

Therefore, I decided to take a step back and firstly secure my refund.

In front of the police, Bowie transferred the $1,350,000 back to me.

After they politely sent off the police, their expressions instantly changed.

Lily grabbed a broom and swept the pavement in front of me.

“You jinx, get out now. Don’t block our business!

“Look at your sharp, shrewd face. Whoever marries you will be cursed for his whole life!”

Bowie also glared at me fiercely.

“Still not leaving? Do you want me to escort you out?”

I directly pulled out the lease contract that he had signed with my family before I patted it in front of him.

“This is my property. You should be the one leaving now!”