Tessa swallowed hard.
She looked at Faye with alarm, making exaggerated facial expressions and mouthing silently, 'Don't go overboard with the act. No matter what, it's the Sterling family's engagement party today. Don't get yourself involved for my sake; it won't be worth it.'
Zion Caldwell was the first to recover, sneering, "Faye, do you think just hiring a couple of bodyguards means you're invincible? I'm telling you, this is my turf today, and you better not get out of line."
Before Faye could speak, Tessa stood up.
She looked at Zion and said, "I've already said I didn't take the watch. Now we're leaving—either let us go, or call the police."
"You can't leave," Ms. Lawson said urgently, worried about who she'd ask for her eight-hundred-thousand-dollar watch if Tessa left.
"We can't call the police," Lillian Sterling also said urgently; she didn't want a police incident marring her engagement party.
