Chapter 148
After opening the door and walking in, Veronica waved at Xavier, who was standing across the door. “Come on in.”
Xavier glanced around the living room, which had a minimalist design. Nevertheless, because the area wasn‘t too spacious, it actually made the space look more warm and cozy with the dim, yellow light in the living room.
“It‘s pretty cozy here,” Xavier commented while walking into the living room to sit on the couch.
“Please make yourself at home.”
Veronica closed the door and took out a bottle of red wine from the wine cooler with a chuckle. “I stole this wine from Matthew‘s place. He said this is an aged wine.”
In fact, Veronica saw this aged wine on Matthew‘s wine cooler back when she was at Twilight Condominium, so she secretly kept it in her bedroom as she planned to devour it.
However, she got into an argument with Matthew later on, so she took it away together when she left the club.
Veronica shook the wine bottle in her hand and said, “Let‘s finish it.”
She loved drinking because when she was with Crayson back then, the latter loved bringing her around for drinks, so as time passed, she gradually got better at holding her liquor.
Nevertheless, Veronica did not realize that she had been drinking quite a lot in the last few months due to the pressure from various sources.
Xavier then took the red wine from Veronica‘s hand and smiled in spite of himself after checking the label. “I‘m afraid we can‘t drink this wine,” he said.
“Huh? Why? Is it because it‘s an aged wine? I can hold my drink, so that‘s not a problem.”
“This is not just any ordinary aged wine. This is a 1945 Romanée–Conti that was bought by someone at an exorbitant price of 3.9 million at New York‘s Sotheby‘s auction. I reckoned the buyer gave this to Matthew as a gift later on.”
Hearing thai, Veronica widened her eyes and was left dumbfounded. “What?! 3.9 million? What kind of wine would cost this much?!”
She knew aged wines were generally more expensive, but she did not expect this one to be so pricey.
“This bottle of wine was produced in 1945. It was auctioned at an exorbitant price because it‘s made of the last portion of grapes in Domaine de la Romanée–Conti after World War II, and there were only 600 bottles worldwide. The historical value associated with it has caused the price to keep soaring.”
Xavier guessed Veronica was surely not aware of the background of this red wine, so he explained it to her.
Truth was, he just so happened to have attended the New York‘s Sotheby‘s auction in 2018 too.
“What?! That‘s f*cking expensive!” Veronica couldn‘t help swearing.
Then, she quickly reached out her hand to grab the wine back from Xavier. “A 1945 wine is not drinkable at all without decanting it. Let‘s forget about having it.”
Carefully holding the wine in her hands, Veronica couldn‘t help sizing up the bottle of wine discreetly out of curiosity. “How could it possibly be so expensive? No wonder the bottle looks so old. It‘s okay, I’ll leave it alone. Maybe the value will increase again in two years‘ time.”
Wait a minute... This is not the main point.
Veronica had a sudden realization–she merely stole a bottle of wine from Matthew and had not expected that its value was actually sky–high. Will Matthew the jerk call the police?
With her heart jolted, she looked toward Xavier instantly and asked, “What‘s the punishment of grand theft?”
Knowing Veronica well, Xavier glanced at the red wine in her hand and understood her meaning immediately.
After hesitating for a while, he answered, “Since the wine is worth almost 4 million, it‘s counted as an extremely valuable item. The minimum punishment is 10 years of imprisonment. In a more serious case, one could be sentenced to life imprisonment. Besides, the criminal‘s assets could be confiscated too.”
“Ten years?!” Veronica freaked out and gulped. “Oh my goodness! Thank God we have not opened it!”
Then, she quickly put the red wine back into the wine cooler and said to Xavier, “It‘s getting late, so you should get going too. I also have some… I plan to head to bed soon. too.”
Veronica wanted to say she also had some stuff to attend to, but she did not say it directly in order to not embarrass herself.
“Sure. Have a goodnight then.”
Xavier‘s initial intention was to see if Veronica was actually staying here. With that, he was surprised to discover the truth as he did not expect it to be true at all.
Meanwhile, half an hour prior to this, Matthew was standing in front of the French window in Twilight Condominium while grasping his phone.
The phone screen displayed a series of numbers that belonged to Veronica‘s phone number.
Nevertheless, Matthew did not call her toward the end.
Later, he made his way to the wine cooler and opened a bottle of wine to fill his glass. Holding the wine glass between his skeletal, slender fingers, Matthew took a sip of the wine elegantly.
However, the moment he lifted his head, he inadvertently realized the expensive red wine was gone.
At once, he paused his movements as his eyes darkened.
At that very second, it was as if he had found a reason to contact Veronica.
So, he took up his phone and dialed Veronica‘s number, but the call was instantly disconnected after the numbers were pressed. After hesitating for a while, he decided to call the police.
Not long after the line was connected, a voice emerged from the other end of the line. “Hi, you have reached 911.”
“I would like to lodge a case. Someone stole my wine.”
“Wine? What wine is it?”
“It‘s a 1945 Romanée–Conti worth 3,9 million.”
“Alright. May I have your address, please? We‘ll come over to take a statement.”
After enquiring Matthew about his address, the police departed immediately to Matthew‘s condominium. After a round of questioning, the police eventually set the target on a woman named ‘Veronica Murphy
“Mr. Kings, we need more time for this matter as currently, we have no idea where Veronica Murphy stays yet. We‘ll inform you immediately to come to the police station after we find her address,” the police said to Xavier after finishing recording the statement.
However, Matthew blurted, “That‘s not necessary. I know where she stays.”
And so, after Veronica sent Xavier away from her condominium, someone knocked on her door while she was applying a facial mask.
“Who‘s that?” she muttered while dragging her slippers on her feet to the door. “Xavier, why did you come b—”
Originally, Veronica thought it was Xavier, but she opened the door to see a few policemen standing at the entrance.
Veronica was stunned at first, but she started cursing Matthew inwardly right after.
He‘s indeed a jerk who doesn‘t act humanly!
Initially, she planned to return the wine to Matthew tomorrow, but she did not expect him to call the police so soon.
True enough, things don’t always go as planned.
“Hello, Mr. Policeman. I–I want to lodge a case.” Veronica immediately took the initiative and said, “I was just about to wash up and head to the police station.”
Standing at the door, the three policemen exchanged glances with different expressions on their faces.
The leading policeman, who had tanned skin, questioned Veronica in a deep voice. “What is it about?”
*Please hang on.”
Veronica scurried back to the living room and took out the bottle of red wine from the wine cooler. “li‘s about this bottle of red wine. My god–grandmother‘s grandson gave this to me as a gift and told me that this wine is only worth 10 thousand, but my friend just told me that it‘s worth 4 million. At this moment, I‘m seriously suspecting that my god–grandmother‘s grandson is setting me up. In fact, he has always been unhappy with how my god–grandmother doted on me. He gave me this Romanée Conti, which is the only one left on the earth, and claimed that it‘s worth 10 thousand. If he lodges a case to the police and accuses me of theft, I could be put behind bars for a lifetime! Mr. Policeman, I‘m really a good citizen who obeys the law.”
Veronica defended herself volubly with her silver tongue.
However, the policemen did not buy her words because after all, the one who lodged the case earlier was none other than Matthew, the well–known only heir of the Kings Family in Bloomstead!
