Chapter 555

“Fine. Since you’re all so interested in Ms. Tanner’s gift, I shall open it and have a look.”

William wasn’t interested in Sophie’s gift, but he didn’t want to disappoint his guests.

Tristan narrowed his eyes as he observed everyone’s reactions.

They’re all waiting to laugh at Sophie!

The butler had no choice but to do as told and unwrap the gift.

Everyone burst out laughing when they saw what it was.

What the… Does Sophie not have any common sense? It’s fine if she chooses to gift Old Mr. Lombard

something cheap, but why would she get him a counterfeit?

“We know that Tanner Group isn’t exactly a huge company, but you should at least gift Old Mr.

Lombard something authentic! Do you really think we’re all so stupid that we can’t tell it’s a fake?”

Minerva taunted her.

“I think you need to go out and see the world so you wouldn’t be so ignorant! You have no idea what

you’re talking about!” Sophie snapped back at her with a frown.

I have no reason to be nice to these people! If they’re going to be rude to me, then I shall respond in

kind!

“Do you even realize what that is? That’s a national treasure, Sophie! There’s no way you could

possibly afford something like that!”

Sophie’s gift was a long-lost national treasure that everyone wanted, but nobody was able to find it.

There were rumors about it being in the possession of an Anglandurn collector, so it didn’t make sense

for the item to be here.

As ignorant as they may be, they knew Sophie couldn’t possibly get her hands on such a gem.

“Oh, but it is the real deal. After all, it would only make sense to gift someone with something they like!”

Sophie replied disdainfully. It’s funny how she’s mocking me when she’s the ignorant one here!

Minerva burst out laughing when she heard that.

“Do you really take us all for fools, Ms. Tanner? There’s no way Tanner Group could possibly get its

hands on something like this!”

Even William was stunned when he saw the gift Sophie got him.

He was not expecting her to get him something like that at all.

Being a patriot, he had tried really hard to acquire that national treasure so he could return it to the

country.

However, he wasn’t able to obtain any information on it whatsoever.

As such, having it appear at his birthday party was quite a surprise.

“Bring it to me!” Regardless of whether it was a fake, William wanted to get a closer look at it.

It was something that had been troubling him for a very long time, so he needed to confirm it himself.

It was something that had been troubling him for a very long time, so he needed to confirm it himself.

The butler had assumed it was a worthless counterfeit at first.

However, seeing William’s response made him so nervous that his hands trembled as he brought it

over.

What if this is the real deal? You can’t buy this with all the money in the world!

All the other guests shook their heads in disapproval when they saw William’s response.

Just how badly does Old Mr. Lombard want that? It can’t possibly be the real thing! Sophie is just a

university student! There’s no way she could get her hands on something like this!

“This can’t be the real deal, Old Mr. Lombard!” Jennifer added.

She refused to believe that a mere university student could possibly obtain a national treasure.

Even so, William ignored her words as he took the gift over and inspected it carefully.

As he had been researching it extensively, he did have some knowledge about it. Even so, William was

unable to confirm if it was authentic.

Determined to find out if the gift he received was the real deal, William turned toward his butler and

said, “I want you to contact the Chief of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs right away! Have them send

some of their appraisers over!”

“It’s definitely a fake, Old Mr. Lombard.”

“Yeah! There’s no way a small company like Tanner Group could get its hands on such a gem!”

“Please don’t let this girl fool you, Old Mr. Lombard. We know you value this treasure, but what you

have here can’t possibly be the real thing.”

Those who were close to William tried to talk him out of it, but William stood firm on his decision.

“Only the appraisers can tell if this is a fake.” As much as William hated Sophie, he wasn’t about to take

such matters lightly.

What if this is the real deal? If it is real, then I must hand this over to the country as soon as possible.

There are far too many people who have set their sights on it!

“Tristan, get some more bodyguards over here right now!”

Tristan immediately did as he was told.

Unlike everyone else, he believed that the present was authentic because Sophie was the one who

prepared it.

Given its unique nature, it would indeed require extra protection from bodyguards.

Still, I didn’t expect Sophie to bring such a valuable gift for my father’s birthday. After all, it isn’t

something that one can buy with money. I’ve been searching for it for many years, but I never managed

to find it.

The Chief of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs came rushing over with a few appraisers immediately after

receiving word about the national treasure. Their eyes went wide with shock after they saw what it was.

The appraisers then got to work and began appraising the item.

Naturally, Jennifer was extremely displeased with the amount of attention Sophie was receiving.

“Hey, Sophie! You do realize that there’s no covering this up now that you got all these appraisers here,

right? Are you that eager to embarrass yourself in front of everyone?”

About ninety-nine percent of the people at the scene believed it was a fake and were waiting to laugh

at Sophie.

Ha! What a naïve girl! Does she really think she can deceive us with that dumb trick of hers?

Sophie ignored Jennifer completely.

Apart from Tristan, Ysabelle was the only other person who believed in Sophie.

After all, Sophie did gift her a gemstone that turned out to be worth a fortune.

As such, she figured Sophie would put in extra effort in preparing a gift for William.

Ysabelle knew that William had been looking for that national treasure since she was a child, so she

was just as surprised as Tristan when she saw Sophie present it as a gift.

“How did you pull this off, Sophie? I can’t believe you managed to get your hands on something so

valuable!” Ysabelle exclaimed in admiration. Wasn’t Sophie in Jipsdale this entire time?

“I have a few friends who specialize in finding this sort of thing,” Sophie replied vaguely, without

mentioning who her friends were.

Charles’ eyes lit up with surprise as well.

“Do you have any more of these treasures, Sophie? If yes, could you give me one?” he asked, as

Walter was also into such treasures.

Sean shot him a warning glare and said, “Charles, could you not say such ignorant things? What do

you think this is?”

This is a freaking national treasure, for goodness’ sake! You can’t just ask someone for it!

Charles let out a helpless chuckle and turned toward Tristan as he continued, “You sure are lucky to

have such a capable girlfriend, Mr. Tristan! I wish I had one too!”

“I’m sorry, but you don’t stand a chance.” What? Is he thinking of making a move on Sophie?