A couple days before the big party, Ruby awoke to find that the comments section of her blog had absolutely exploded since her last post. There was a ton of commenters clamoring about where they thought Lupin was going to strike next. Excited at first, as Ruby began to scroll through the comments, she became increasingly perturbed.
He's going to upstate New York!
The Del Monte mansion in upstate New York, for sure!
"Here?!" she exclaimed to no one in particular. "For what?"
Sure, the Del Monte manor was quite a lavish estate. Antony Del Monte was one of the richest men in North America. And certainly, there was fine china, crystal chandeliers, and priceless jewelry to be found in the mansion. But those were small potatoes for someone like Lupin. Far too big a risk. All of Del Monte's wealth was kept elsewhere -- somewhere in Italy, Ruby believed. Lupin would be better off attempting to hack into the place where Antony did his banking, and that wasn't exactly Lupin's style.
She read further.
He's going after the Del Monte ruby!
Totally going to the Del Monte estate for that ruby they're gonna display!
And it kept going and going like this, for there was more of the same. Further investigation revealed it all stemmed from a news article entitled, 'Priceless Del Monte Ruby Put on Display This Weekend.'
And with more digging, Ruby found this was making the rounds on countless news sources all over the internet.
The Del Monte Ruby was all anyone was talking about.
"Del Monte ruby? We don't even have a—"
It wasn't until she said it out loud that she realized; she was the Del Monte Ruby! And she had a feeling just who was responsible. Quickly, she shot a text to Kierra.
R: OMG! What have you done, Kia???
K: 😜 Why my dear Ruby, whatever are you referring to?
R: Don't pull that with me. At the rate you're going, you'll be as notorious of a troll as Lupin is a thief! What were you thinking? Why did you spread the rumor about this 'Del Monte Ruby?'
K: I thought that would be obvious. I did it for you!
K: If I can make a big stink about some priceless treasure that spreads like wildfire, then maybe it'll catch the attention of a certain master thief, and maaaaybe he'll turn up for your birthday party!
K: You're welcome! 😘
Ruby's thumbs paused over the screen of her phone, in mid admonishment. Could it be? Might Lupin actually take the rumor Kierra spread seriously and come to her birthday party? She chewed her lip to prevent herself from smiling in a manner a little too reminiscent to the notorious thief himself.
R: Okay, you got me, girl. Assuming Lupin ACTUALLY falls for it, then Antony's bullshit birthday bash could turn out to be the best birthday ever! 🥰
R: But with the nature of this rumor, I have to wonder if he'd take it seriously, given the nebulous source... no offense.
K: Remember how many people fell for that article I posted about the nationwide record low gas prices? That almost caused a national frenzy!
K: If it weren't for that random IP address generator Dad's company developed, I'd be up shit crick, probably.
K: If I can make THAT happen... I WILL make Lupin the Third show up to your birthday party!
YOU ARE READING
Lupin the Third: The Del Monte Ruby
Fanfiction[Book 1] Lupin the Third enthusiast, Ruby Del Monte, lives in a gilded cage. Her obscenely wealthy brother-in-law plays the role of a heavy-handed parent, keeping her locked away like a princess in a tower. But Ruby lives vicariously through the exp...
