Patti Yale''s gaze lingered on Gwh, her eyes noting the staff badge clipped to her chest. The corners of Patti''s mouth curled in a faint, dismissive smile. So this is who was making a fuss—just another low-level employee.
A colleague from the events team noticed Gwh standing toe-to-toe with Patti and hurried over to intervene.
"Gwh, we''re here to help with the exhibition, not start trouble. This woman— she''s the one who was buying jewelry at the mall the other day. She used Mr. Everhart''s card."
The colleague''s voice dropped to a whisper, ncing nervously at Patti, "She made quite an entrance when she arrived. We really can''t afford to cross her. Besides, everything here belongs to the Everhart family. Which means, technically, it''s all hers too."
But even though the warning was soft, Patti heard every word. She lifted her chin, looking down her nose at Gwh with a haughty, triumphant air.
"Did you hear your friend just now?" Patti drawled. "At least she knows her ce. This whole event is hosted by my fiancé''spany. He''s busy, so he couldn''t make it today, but so what if I broke a bit of ss? What are you going to do about it?"
Gwh studied Patti, growing more incredulous by the second. Was Hawthorne really interested in a woman like this?
"What''s your fiancé''s name?" Gwh asked, keeping her tone measured.
She drew a deep breath. There were security cameras everywhere every word Patti said was being recorded. If there was anything shady going on, Gwh could easily get the footage and ask Hawthorne herself.
But Patti didn''t care about someone like Gwh. She barely looked up, giving her a bored, almostzy nce. "I''d tell you, but I wouldn''t want to frighten you."
Gwh offered her anxious colleague a reassuring look, then faced Patti with the same unppable politeness.
"I''m not trying to pry," Gwh said calmly, "but we have clear rules here—no photography. And you just broke the disy ss. I''d like to know why you''re so determined to take a photo of this hairpin."
Patti shrugged. "It''s nothing. I just thought it looked beautiful and wanted to show my fiancé so he can give it to me."
A ripple of disbelief swept through the staff nearby. The audacity! That hairpin was
a nationally protected artifact. Even Hawthorne had only managed to borrow it
from the national museum for this temporary exhibit.
She actually thought Hawthorne could just hand it over to her? Gwh<fn5a59> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n Find[?]ovel</fn5a59>
suppressed augh. “I''m afraid your fiancé doesn''t have the authority to give you this. It''s not a personal possession."
Patti didn''t even bother responding. "That''s my business. If you''re going to put things on disy and then say I can''t do this or that, why bother having an exhibition at all? Whatever. I''m leaving."
As Patti turned to go, the exhibition manager hurried over, anxious. Someone had to take responsibility for this mess, or everyone would be in trouble-and face pay cuts.
"Wait a moment, ma''am. The photos you took-those need to be deleted. I''m afraid we have to insist."
Now Patti was genuinely angry. "Are you people deaf? I''m the future Mrs. Everhart! How dare you speak to me like this? I''m not deleting anything. They''re just a few silly
pictures does iteally mek
much?" s
on
that
That was the moment Gwh knew this woman was a fraud. Or worse, a spy.
The Everhart family''s business revolved around cultural heritage and preservation international exports, too.
Patti had been snapping pictures since the moment she arrived, unting her status with as much noise and spectacle as possible. If she really had any special privileges, she wouldn''t need to cause or s sneak photos-she could just go straight to Hawthorne. s
scene
"This hairpin has been restored before," Gwh said, her voice steady. "Every artifact here is protected and cannot be distributed or recorded. And if you really are the future Mrs. Everhart, that means you have an even greater responsibility to respect these rules, not break them for your own amusement." s