Claire never really cared when people compared her to Cindy, but that didn't mean she liked it either. Cindy, on the other hand, loved to compare everything. If her slipped behind Claire's, she'd get all gloomy about it.
"I get it," Claire said.
Dewitt thought Claire had a real personality, not easily influenced by others.
Later that afternoon, he took them all for a walk through the stone market. It was wild—a place where, with one slice, you could be filthy rich or flat broke just like that. The excitement everyone had after watching Claire get lucky with a single stone vanished the moment they saw how dangerous the game could be.
"That guy earlier," Len whispered, "he spent three hundred thousand on that stone, right? Now that it's worthless, how much does he get back?" Len was still shocked. They'd all seen the green in that rock, and from what they'd gathered, the translucency was supposed to be top-tier. So how did it instantly turn into garbage?
Dewitt smiled at their confusion. "That was just some surface green. Looks good on the outside, but you can't make anything from it. Now it's just scrap."
Ouch, that had to hurt.
"Three hundred thousand isn't even much. Last year, someone spent four million at an auction—and lost every cent. Now that's a real rush.”
Dewitt had been around the block in this business and nothing surprised him anymore. There wasn't a ton to do here anyway. He'd really just come along today for the fun of it.
Spending the day with Claire was all about giving her some life experience. If she saw enough people losing big, maybe she wouldn't get cocky just because she hit it big once.
"The stone Claire picked earlier? That was all luck. There aren't too many people out there with that kind of overnight fortune."
"There was this guy once. Started out making money in stones. Ended up losing everything—even put his wife and kids up as collateral. In the end, he jumped."
"That's what gambling does. Once greed sets in, you never know what's waiting for you."
"It's fine if you're just having a bit of fun and setting a hard limit for yourselves," Dewitt continued. "The
scary part is if you win now you might think it's easy money and start getting in deep."
He gave them a serious look. "And when the losses come, if your family can't cover your bets, who knows what you'll lose. An arm, a leg, maybe even your life."
Len looked pale. "Don't worry, we know where the line is." No way he was touching this business again.
None of them really understood how to pick a good stone, or even spot a fake from the real deal. If they jumped in, they'd lose everything.
Len's family had money, sure, but not the sort you could just blow for fun. Sophia wasn't even interested in making money-she'd probably be happier in a boxing match than betting on stones, Shirley had been tempted, but Dewitt's words put out that fire real quick. Contént
They talked it over and figured this was a one-and-done situation-try it once, see something new, then let it go.
Dewitt softened a bit. "Tell you what, pick out another stone each. My treat. I just want you to enjoy yourselves."
But the three of them shook their heads.
"We can't let you pay. We've got our own money," said Len.
"Yeah Dewitt, no need. Just keep an eye out so we don't get ripped off
Sophia grinned, already scrolling. 19
on
her phone, "Can I get a stope for eight hundred?”
Clearly, they hadn't given up. Claire could see right through them—they still wanted just one more shot.