Chapter 3 The Con Artist

• "By Ava"
• After a few hours of sleep, I indulged in a long and invigorating shower, followed by a strong coffee to recover from the emotions of the past few hours. Then, I called Emma, and we met in front of one of the pawn shops in town.
• "Good afternoon, friend!" Emma greeted me with a hug and looked at me awkwardly. "I'm sorry for leaving you alone yesterday, but..."
• "It's okay, Emma; you don't need to explain."
• "So, how was the night with the handsome man?"
• "Great up to a certain point." I smiled awkwardly and showed her the watch before we entered the shop. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?"
• "Don't tell me you..."
• "No! Let's just say I borrowed it, but I'll find a way to return it! At least tomorrow I'll have the money to solve my mother's problem. Then, I can try to sell the Porsche again and get the watch back. Maybe they'll offer a better price."
• "The Porsche? Friend, you're in love with it! Besides, selling a Porsche for $70,000 is crazy!"
• "Yes, but I'm also in love with my freedom, and I'm not a thief, Emma. I have no idea who that man is, and if he..."
• "Relax!" Emma gave me a reassuring smile as she caressed my arm. "It's done, now let's deal with this part before thinking about how you'll get that watch back later."
• Emma pulled me by the arm, and we entered the pawn shop, where a man with a bored expression stared at us.
• "Good afternoon, sir, I'd like to know how much you offer me for this watch?"
• I greeted him as I took the watch out of my bag and placed it on the counter. Initially, the man looked disdainfully at the object, but after a few seconds, his bored expression instantly disappeared.
• "Hmm..." He took a watchmaker's loupe and carefully examined the watch. "Although it's a Rolex, this model is a bit outdated, miss. But I'm in a good mood today, so I offer $50,000."
• "What?!" Emma exclaimed as she tried to take the watch from his hand. "We won't accept less than $150,000!"
• "That's impossible, miss; I'll be lucky if I can sell it. It will probably just be another item taking up space, but I liked you both."
• "Ava," Emma whispered to me as the man examined the watch again, "he's lying; this watch must be worth around $100,000. Sir, how about improving your offer? $120,000?"
• "I offer $80,000; it's my final offer."
• "Thank you very much for your time, sir." I thanked him and took the watch from his hand, putting it back in my bag. "Sorry for taking up your time, but I'm sure someone else will recognize the value of this watch."
• "Ladies," the man called out as we were about to leave, "Right, I'll pay $100,000 and not a penny more."
• "It was a pleasure negotiating with you." I thanked him after a few minutes, checking the amount deposited into my account.
• Before we left, we decided to make a stop at a café near my house. I let out a long sigh of relief for solving part of my mother's problem by completing the bank transfer.
• In the late afternoon, we said goodbye and went home. However, I was surprised to stop in front of my house and see a Bentley Mulliner Batur parked a few meters away. "Breathe, don't panic, Ava! It's surely just a visit from one of the neighbors," I murmured to myself as I parked my car and opened the door to get out.
• However, upon seeing the male figure emerging from the car, I realized that the visit was actually for me. I forced a smile as our eyes met and he began to approach. But upon noticing the displeased expression on his face, my only reaction was to return to the car and drive to Emma's house.
• "Ava?!" Emma was surprised to open the door and see me in a panic. "What's going on?"
• "Him, Emma!" I breathed frantically, trying to explain.
• "Relax, Ava, breathe!"
• "The man, that man from yesterday!"
• "What about him?"
• "He was there... " I am interrupted by the insistent ringing of the doorbell, and we both look at each other. "Don't open it, please! Oh my God, he found me!"
• "Miss Hampton, I know you're in there. How about opening the damn door for once?" His voice sounds impatient and harsh, followed by strong knocks on the door.
• "I think I'll have to open it, Ava... Otherwise, he'll end up knocking down my door."
• "No, he'll get tired and leave!"
• "I'm not leaving here, Ava!" He replies as if he could hear my whispers. "We have all night."
• "Sorry, friend!"
• Emma lets go of me and heads to the door, leaving me completely nervous about the man's reaction when he sees me. When the door opens, two men enter and once again our eyes meet.
• "Taylor, you better stay at the door, in case this..." The man points his finger at me and looks at me with disdain. "Opportunist, run off again."
• "Hey! Don't talk about my friend like that!"
• "Oh, no? How would you prefer me to call her? Thief? Con artist? Kleptomaniac? The vocabulary is extensive..." He stares at Emma, who looks away and remains silent. "Miss M., or rather, Miss Ava Miller Hampton..."
• "Mr. E." I reply awkwardly and notice a muffled laugh from his friend. "How did you find me?"
• "Did you really think you could steal from me and get away with it? I don't know how you operate, but you messed with the wrong person, Ava... Just one call, and I found you."
• "Of course, because the heavy lifting was left to me." I hear his friend complain quietly, but just one look from Mr. E. makes him raise his hands in surrender. "Sorry, Noah."
• "Anyway, you've wasted too much of my time unnecessarily. As much as I want to grab you by the arm and drag you to the police station, your family's influence wouldn't allow you to pay the right way. But I can't help but wonder if your father knows about the con artist daughter he has."
• "I'm not a con artist, thief, or anything like that, sir, just..."
• "You know what?" Noah interrupts me in a loud tone, and we both look at him startled. "I don't care about your reasons, Ava. I don't even want to look at you anymore. So, take advantage of the fact that I'm in a good mood, give me back the watch, and I swear I'll leave here without causing you any further harm."
• "So..." I scratch my neck and look for the best words to explain about the watch. "It's not here. After all, there would be no reason to walk out with a men's watch in my purse, don't you think?"
• "I'd rather not say what I think. Where is it? At your house? Come on, let's go!"
• "Ava, if you want, I'll go with you."
• "No, Emma, you have nothing to do with this story. I'm the one who has to deal with it. "Even under Noah's intimidating gaze, I look at him and take a deep breath before speaking. "Your watch is not here or at my house, Mr. E."
• "Enough of these ridiculous games, I'm tired of this. Call me Mr. Ewing."
• "Ewing?" Emma asks, with her hand over her mouth, and looks at me as startled as I am. "Like, Ewing from the First Place Group?"
• "Don't act like you don't understand. Everything must have been well planned when you saw me. Where is the watch, Ava?"
• "I sold it, I sold it!" I exclaim, running my hand over my face, trying to hide my shame. "I needed the money and when I saw the watch... Well, look at you, Mr. Ewing! We were at one of the most luxurious nightclubs in Boston, and you know that no one gets in without a name on the VIP list. You drive an expensive car, and you made sure to take me to one of the most expensive hotels here! So, when I saw it, I thought: "Surely he must have a collection of watches like this; he won't even miss it."
• "Are you serious that you were impressed by the Lamborghini? By the Four Seasons Hotel? You drive a Porsche 911 Turbo S, and your standard of living is not so different from mine, Ava. My God, how can you be so fake using that as an excuse?" He lets out a mocking laugh and runs a hand through his hair. "I'll ask again and I hope it's the last time! Where the hell is the watch? Or rather, who did you sell it to so quickly?"
• "In the pawn shop, obviously..." Emma whispers and looks at us scared when she realizes we heard her. "Sorry, Ava!"
• "Pawn shop? Did you hear that, Taylor?" Noah smirks and shakes his head. "At least tell me you received a satisfactory offer..."
• "Of course, I negotiated for her!" Emma says proudly. "Can you believe the man offered us $50,000?"
• "Seriously?" Taylor raises his eyebrows and chuckles as he looks at Noah. "Not bad."
• "Wait until you hear the amount we managed to sell it for, tell him, Ava."
• "Tell him, Ava, how much did you sell my watch for?"
• "$100,000," I say timidly, and Taylor stares at Noah, who looks at me in a way that sends shivers down my spine.
• "$100,000? You sold a Rolex Bao Dai for $100,000?"
• "What's wrong? That watch didn't seem worth more than..." Emma interrupts her speech when Noah looks at her the same way he looked at me, and she looks away. "I better keep quiet..."
• "Is it Emma, right?" Taylor asks and she nods. "Maybe it's worth a little more than that, Emma."
• "A little, Taylor? Ava, either you were really desperate, or you're even dumber than I thought! Don't waste my time, do what you have to do, steal whoever you have to steal from... I'll come looking for you tomorrow and I hope you have my watch!"