Since her mom had basically thrown her into the spotlight, Zoey Mitchell couldn’t back down. She asked Mrs. Wu to take off the necklace and said, “I always check gems like this, you know, hold it up to the sun…”
She tried hard to recall those appraisal tutorials she’d skimmed online.
But her memory was a mess—remembered a bit, forgot a bit—so everything she said sounded shaky.
“You just… gotta find the right angle.”
Zoey then held the sapphire necklace up, pretending to be all pro while shifting it around and tossing out a few technical words to bluff her way through.
Mrs. Bai nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, I’ve heard that too. A gem only looks good if it’s pure. That’s how you know it’s real.”
“Mrs. Bai, you take a look as well.” Zoey handed the necklace over.
“It’s rea
