Chapter 35 Nicholas Got Fooled

When Emily said that, her hands were balled into tight fists. She was super anxious and scared of what she might hear next.

The guy started to talk, but Emily cut him off, raising her hand. "Think before you speak. If you lie, you know what'll happen."

The guy nodded, his voice all raspy. "This has nothing to do with James. It was Nicholas who told us to do it."

Hearing that James wasn't involved, Emily finally felt a wave of relief. For some reason, she was terrified of hearing that James had anything to do with it. She had no idea what she'd do if that were the case. Luckily, it had nothing to do with James.

"Why did he tell you to do this?" Emily's voice had a hint of relief.

"We don't know," the guy replied.

Having gotten the answer she wanted, Emily didn't stick around. When she came out, Harper could tell she was feeling lighter. "Emily, you seem way more relaxed."

"Yeah," Emily filled Harper in on the questioning. Harper listened, getting angrier by the second. "That damn Nicholas, always up to no good! Now that we know it was him, got any plans, Emily?"

Emily's eyes flickered. She had a hunch Olivia was behind this. After all, she had no beef with Nicholas. Even the last time the necklace was stolen, the clues pointed to Olivia's scheme.

She frowned, pulled out her phone, and made a call. "Joseph, I need your help with something."

"Sure, what is it?" Joseph asked.

"I need you to help me set up a plan," Emily said.

"What kind of plan?" Joseph asked.

Emily laid out her idea to Joseph in detail. Joseph couldn't help but praise her. After finalizing the plan, Emily hung up.

"Emily, do you think this plan will work? Will Nicholas really fall for it?" Harper asked.

"He's a gambler; of course, he'll fall for it." Emily smiled wickedly.

Nicholas had been having a rough time lately. Abigail caught him gambling and gave him a stern lecture. Then, when he got home, Brandon gave him a good beating.

For the past few days, he had been behaving himself, but he still had the itch to gamble. However, he didn't dare to, and he had no money. So he just hung around outside the gambling spots, watching gamblers come and go.

Recently, a pair of gambler brothers caught his eye. They went in and out of the casino every day, always with big smiles on their faces, unlike others who went in smiling and came out crying. One day, he couldn't resist and followed them.

"This time, we hit the jackpot," the younger brother said, laughing heartily.

The older brother put his arm around the younger one's shoulder. "Of course, listen to me, and you can't go wrong. No equipment can detect these glasses."

"Keep your voice down. If others find out, we'll lose our chance to get rich," the younger brother said, quickly covering the older one's mouth.

Hearing this, the older brother became more cautious. The two looked around carefully and noticed someone in a corner not far behind them. They exchanged glances and smiled. Nicholas took the bait!

Nicholas noticed the glasses they were wearing, and his eyes lit up with greed. 'Glasses that can't be detected by any scanner? That's some next-level tech!' He rolled his eyes, and a brilliant idea popped into his head.

That night, Nicholas rounded up some guys and ambushed the brothers at their place. After knocking them out, he swiped the glasses.

He wasn't dumb. He tested the glasses with his buddies and confirmed they could see the numbers on the dice. The next day, he strutted into the casino, glasses on.

Soon enough, he was raking in the wins, convinced these glasses were his lucky charm. He was in high spirits every day.

This excitement caught Olivia's attention. Early one morning, as Nicholas was about to head to the casino, Olivia stopped him at the door. "Nicholas, where are you off to?"

Olivia, stroking her pregnant belly, eyed Nicholas suspiciously. Her gaze lingered on the glasses for a few seconds. "Since when do you wear glasses?"

"None of your business!" Nicholas snapped, his face cold. He knew she was the one who ratted him out to their parents about his gambling.

If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be in this mess. Most of his assets had been frozen by Abigail and Brandon, and now he had to sneak around to gamble, which sucked all the fun out of it.

Olivia narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Fine, I won't interfere. Go have your fun."

Nicholas hesitated but then took a step forward, threatening Olivia. "You better not meddle, or I'll tell James all the dirt on you!"

Olivia was furious but forced a smile. "Nicholas, we're family. If James finds out, he won't let you off either, and he won't spare the Jackson family. Think about Abigail and Brandon before you act."

Nicholas snorted and brushed past Olivia, heading out. But he was still cautious, constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was tailing him. Even when he got to the casino, he circled around a few times before sneaking in through a side door.

Olivia, who had initially wanted to follow Nicholas to see what he was up to, couldn't keep up with her pregnant belly. After a few rounds, she was exhausted and had to give up, taking a cab home to rest. As soon as she got home, she noticed she was bleeding and immediately took a cab to the hospital.

Emily got a call from Joseph just as she was wrapping up her work. "Joseph."

"Today's the day to catch Nicholas. I'll go with you. Come downstairs," Joseph said.

Emily was momentarily stunned but quickly realized Joseph must be waiting for her downstairs at the Johnson Group building. She immediately delegated her work and headed down.

Joseph was dressed casually, in simple sportswear, with a black headband that highlighted his handsome features. He looked laid-back and approachable.

"Joseph," Emily called softly as she approached him.

"I got you a gift. Want to see?" Joseph's voice was gentle. Emily was surprised and followed Joseph to the car's trunk.

The trunk slowly opened, revealing a car full of flowers and fairy lights. In the middle, a giant teddy bear held a box with an exquisite bracelet inside. It was an incredibly surprising and overly romantic gift. It would be perfect for a girlfriend, but for a sister, it was a bit much.