Mr. Sebastian immediately presented a check with the amount already written to Samson. Then he said, "If you feel this amount I'm offering isn't enough, I'll double it. What do you say, Sam?"
Mr. Sebastian paused for a moment, then continued, "With this money, you can change your lifestyle and that of your family, and perhaps you can also use it as capital to start a business."
Samson took the check from Mr. Sebastian's hand. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the amount written on it. Seeing Samson accept the check, Mr. Sebastian's heart was slightly joyful. He felt that Samson would accept his offer and give him the necklace. With such a large amount, it was impossible for him to refuse, Mr. Sebastian speculated inwardly.
Samson was still looking at the check, then he stared sharply at Mr. Sebastian, "Apparently, sir, you are very wealthy. I am truly impressed with you. With the wealth you possess, you can buy anything in this world, including this necklace of mine."
Mr. Sebastian felt flattered by Samson's words, but on the contrary, Samson became increasingly annoyed by Mr. Sebastian's arrogant attitude. Samson was still holding and staring intently at the check. Mr. Sebastian's heart had already leaped with joy, thinking that soon the necklace would be his, and after that, it would be given to Mr. Victor.
He didn't realize that Samson's hand was secretly crumpling the check into a small ball. Then, the ball of the check slowly went into his mouth. Samson chewed it thoroughly, then swallowed it raw.
Seeing what Samson had just done, he was startled. Instantly, his face turned crimson, his blood boiled, then he rose from his seat and shouted at Samson, "What are you doing, Samson? Are you out of your mind? Don't you realize you've just insulted me with your actions?"
"What? Did you think I would accept your offer?" Samson retorted, jumping up from his seat. Samson pointed his index finger towards the outside of his yard while exclaiming, "Get out of my house! I don't have time to deal with you."
"Samson, are you still angry with me because I didn't hire you and your four colleagues?" asked Mr. Sebastian, who was still hoping Samson would change his mind.
"What nonsense are you talking about, sir? I'll give you ten seconds to get out of my sight. If not, don't expect to live until tomorrow morning," Samson snapped.
"Fine! You'll regret this, Sam! You don't know the power behind me." Mr. Sebastian stepped out of Samson's yard. Then he took out his cell phone from his pants pocket.
Then, with slightly trembling hands, he called Mr. Victor.
"How is it, Sebastian? Did you get it?" asked Mr. Victor after the call connected.
"Sir, I've found the young man, and I've given him a large offer for his necklace. However, he rejected all my offers," Mr. Sebastian replied in a flat tone.
"How could you fail, Sebastian?"
"I'm sorry, sir! I've tried my best, and many of my men were injured because of it."
"To hell with your men!
Are you looking for your death wish, huh?
I told you, never disappoint me. I am a man who doesn't like to be disappointed," he snapped again.
"Mr. Victor, please give me one more chance to get it. I promise, this time I will succeed."
"Fine, alright! But remember, if you fail again, I myself will rip your head off your body, understand?"
"I understand, sir!" Mr. Sebastian ended the call.
Beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, then he weakly headed towards his car which was parked not far from Samson's house. Some of the guards were still waiting for him faithfully, and some had already returned.
The head guard approached Mr. Sebastian and asked, "How did it go, sir? Did you manage to get it?"
Mr. Sebastian did not answer his head guard's question; he simply exclaimed, "Let's go back! Execute Plan B!"
"Yes, sir!" all his guards replied in unison.
His guards had been previously instructed by Mr. Sebastian that if the offer he made was unsuccessful. And everyone understood and would execute Plan B.
Zack peeked through the windowpane; he didn't see Mr. Sebastian outside the yard. Only Samson was still standing like a statue. Zack and his three colleagues came out to approach Samson.
"Are you alright, Sam?" asked Zack when he was close to him.
"I'm fine, Zack!" replied Samson, then he took a long breath. "Your hunch was right, he's not just interested in my necklace, he wants it too," said Samson, holding the pendant on his neck.
"Then?" Zack asked again, curious.
"He offered me a considerable amount of money, hoping I would give him this necklace of mine. However, I refused all his offers, and I kicked him out. I don't want to deal with someone as cunning as him."
"May we know, how much money did Mr. Sebastian offer you?" Tom asked.
"Ten million dollars!" Samson replied briefly.
"Huh, what?"
The four of them were taken aback, as if their eyeballs all popped out and fell from their sockets, as if they couldn't believe what they had just heard.
"Are you crazy? You turned down such a huge offer just for a necklace?" Ferdy asked in astonishment.
Samson turned to Ferdy, his eyes widened slightly, and he snapped a little, "You know what, Ferdy? If Mr. Sebastian considers this necklace so valuable to him, doesn't that make it valuable to me too? It's just that I don't yet know what's behind the specialness of my necklace. Sooner or later, I will find out."
Ferdy fell silent, feeling guilty for his words just now. He felt that Samson was offended by his words.
"Samson, I didn't mean to offend you. I just thought, with that much money you could change your life and your family's, you would become a very rich person."
"Enough!" Samson snapped again.
Zack approached Samson, who still seemed highly emotional. After all, the necklace he wore had been hanging around his neck since childhood. And Zack understood why he wouldn't give it to Mr. Sebastian, even though he was offered a very large sum of money.
Zack then asked Samson, who was standing beside him, "Sam, have you ever noticed or tried to figure out what's inside that pendant? Look at it closely; from my perspective, the pendant is quite unique. The motif and size of the front part are smaller, and the back part is a bit wider. May I, Samson?"
"Please do, Zack!"
Zack held Samson's pendant, turned it over, and explained, "This back part, try to look at it, there's a kind of very thin cavity." Zack moved the pendant up and down slowly. "You can hear it, can't you?" Zack asked again to confirm.
Everyone was in awe hearing Zack's explanation just now. All this time, Samson hadn't paid much attention to the necklace he wore, let alone noticed all its shapes and motifs. Zack's explanation was enough for him to keep it. He wouldn't give it to anyone until he knew what secret it held.
Then Zack added, "However, this back part isn't easy to open. There's a special tool for opening it, but that tool is now rare."
For a moment, everything was silent, then Zack said again, "Samson, it's highly likely they will do anything to get it. From my analysis, it's impossible that Mr. Sebastian offered such a large sum of money; he must really want it."
"I agree with you, Zack," said Samson, confirming Zack's words.
"Oh yeah, friends, how about the day after tomorrow we go to the pub and have some drinks there! The place is almost finished, only a few decorations left!" exclaimed Zack, breaking the silence.
"Really, Zack! Why so fast?" asked Samson.
Zack chuckled and replied, "Hehehe, it's all thanks to the help of these three," while pointing his index finger towards his three colleagues.
"Gosh! I haven't contributed anything to that place yet," said Samson, scratching his head even though it wasn't itchy.
"Don't worry about such a trivial thing," Zack replied flatly.
"Alright! In that case, let's meet the day after tomorrow. Since it's getting late, we'll take our leave first, Samson," Zack said again.
Zack, seeing Tom, Ferdy, and Hendri still standing like statues, asked, "Aren't you guys going home?"