$2 millions worth a bottle wine

Chapter 28

The wines were quickly unboxed for everyone's viewing pleasure.

"Teh, and here I thought they were decent quality. Looks like these are just craft brews, worth no more than two thousand dollars, I bet." James had a look of disdain on his face. "How could these compare to Grand Crus?"

"Craft brews have long lost their value on the market. We don't even give our servants. these!" someone exclaimed,

Craft brews weren't actually that terrible in terms of quality, but they were nothing compared to Grand Crus.

"What a cheapskate!" Florence scoffed,

"How are craft brews cheap when they've been on the rise in the country? Is your taste. in fine wine only limited to those brewed overseas?" Dustin casually responded.

"How is it not cheap when they cost only a couple thousand? Chris' wines cost more than 100 thousand dollars." James rolled his eyes.

"Wines don't have to be expensive to be good. Plus, you don't know how much exactly my wines cost."

"Are you still trying to make a comeback?" James sneered.

Florence scowled. "Hmph! So damn stubborn, that one."

"I'm not going to waste any more of my time trying to explain to people who won't listen to reason," Dustin said. He really didn't want to waste his breath any longer.

"That's enough. What matters most is the flavor, not the cost. I prefer whites over reds. anyway." Henry finally interrupted, popped open one of the craft brews, and poured himself a glass.

"Wait, why is it so yellow? Shouldn't craft brews be pale white?"

"It's murky too! It isn't fake, is it?"

"My goodness, bringing fake wine to dinner! What kind of person would do that?"

The people started whispering to each other upon seeing the yellow liquid in the old man's glass.

"Now you've really done it! How dare you mock us all with this sham of a gift?!"

Florence cried, slamming the table with one hand.

"What if something happens to us after drinking it?!"

"I never expected him to be so evil! Is he trying to poison us all or what?"

A commotion broke out at the table in an instant. Cheap wine was already embarrassing enough, but fake wine? That was a conspiracy waiting to happen! Not even the old man knew how to calm the situation down now. He never drank much craft brews, but even he knew it was supposed to be a pale, nearly transparent color. Yet the wine Dustin had brought was not only yellow; it even seemed opaque. It didn't look like anything good.

"This is how fine–aged craft brews usually turn out to look like," Dustin explained.

"Bullshit!" James cried. "Do you think we're idiots? No wine looks like this! It's piss, that's all it is!"

"Yeah! Why do you continue to lie through your teeth?" Florence huffed.

Chris shook his head with faux empathy. "Oh, Dustin. You should've told me if you couldn't bring anything to the table. I could've given you a bottle or two for show. Why would you want to drag us down like this?"

His words seemed kind, but in truth, he was leaping for joy internally. Dustin truly was no match for him. His victory over this family nearly felt effortless.

"I don't care if you trust me or not. All I can say is this wine is genuine and as good as they come," Dustin reaffirmed.

"Whoa, what a crowd!"

Suddenly, a man appeared in the doorway, still dressed in his business suit, holding several gifts.

"Dad? You're back from your trip already?" James gasped. It was John Nicholson, Dahlia's father.

"Well, the deal was a success, so I came home, Carly." John smiled. The wines on the table caught his attention. "Oh, is that La Romanee? It's a recent brew I think, but it must cost at least 100 thousand dollars a bottle, am I right?"

"Good on you, Dad! You're right!" James beamed.

"Dear, Chris brought this over for dinner. Isn't he sweet?" Florence spoke up, then she turned to glare at Dustin. "Unlike some people who tried to poison all of us with fake wine!"

"Fake wine?" John exclaimed.

"Yeah, look!" James showed his father the glass of yellow liquid. "Dustin brought this over for dinner. If we hadn't noticed in time, God knows what would've happened to us if we drank it."

John took a close whiff of the wine, then tossed the entire glass down in one go. "Dad, what are you doing? Don't drink that! You'll kill yourself!" James yelled.

Yet John seemed to be reveling in the taste of the wine. "A smooth, creamy body, followed by a heady finish, this isn't fake. This is a priceless aged craft brew!" "What?!" Everyone gasped.

"You must be kidding, right, Dad? This can't be aged wine!" James' eyes were wide as dinner plates.

"Look at how yellowish it looks, though. It must be fake!" Florence accused.

"You guys must not have seen brews like this before. Aged craft brews get this color, and it only darkens the longer it's been aging. Every wine connoisseur knows this."

The looks on everyone's faces quickly changed. Their accusations had just been dampened significantly, not by just anyone but by John Nicholson himself, a well-known wine enthusiast. His judgment couldn't be wrong.

"I was blessed to be able to try such a fine wine years ago with a government official, but this brew right here must be finer than the one I had that body and finish tell me it must've been aged for at least 50 years!" John smacked his lips, still enjoying the brew's aftertaste. ?

"How much would it cost on the market?" James asked curiously.

"It's priceless. You couldn't find a willing seller even if you offered a city's worth. But if we judge based on recent wine auction values, it should cost at least two million dollars,"

"Two million?!" Everyone gasped. They've never even heard of wine that costs this much! Chris' Grand Cru was nothing compared to that!

"N–no way!" Florence refused to believe it. "Are you sure about this, John? How could Dustin be able to afford this?"

"Yeah! He can't even afford a nice pair of pants, not to mention something this expensive!" James cried. His argument brought forth the table's resounding agreement.

"He has a point. How could that vagrant have that much money?"

"Hmm… where did you get this brew, Dustin?" John asked gently.

"A friend gave it to me," he answered truthfully.

"Gave it to you?" Florence scowled. "How could someone like you have friends rich enough to buy a drink like that? Even if they did, why would they give it to you in the first place? I bet you stole it from them!'

"Yeah, he must've stolen it!" James nodded vigorously, finding a new accusation to slap Dustin with. He refused to believe Dustin could afford this sort of quality wine, whether or not it was given to him by a friend.

"Why did you have to steal this of all things, Dustin? Do you know how many years you'll have to spend in prison for theft?" Chris huffed, appearing to be considerate. How could that pauper have gotten a hold of something not even he could?

"Whether you believe me or not doesn't matter to me. I didn't steal it, and that's enough for me," Dustin droned. First, they called his wine cheap. Then, after revealing it wasn't, they find another accusation of him having stolen it. Next, they would just say he blackmailed Natasha into giving it to him. That's why there was no use explaining to them further.

"Hah, see? Where's your excuse now? I knew you stole this!" Florence screeched.

"You thief! I can't believe you stole this just to look good in front of us!" James gasped, playing along.

"Whatever. I got this wine for Granddad and Granddad only, so you guys don't have to drink and if you don't want to!" Dustin rolled his eyes. He had had enough of this crap.

"Enough, all of you! I trust Dustin with my whole heart, and I know he didn't steal this wine, so stop it!" Henry finally ground out.

"But Granddad…

"Be quiet! Eat your food!" the old man ordered once again. Only then did everyone shut up?

Even Florence and James, who still didn't believe he could have lawfully gotten his hands on the craft brew. Dinner finally began. Even though everyone had their turn at smearing Dustin's name, they still gladly took their share of the craft brew. Even those who didn't drink alcohol tried a few sips.

After all, this brew cost over two million dollars on the market, a precious delicacy they had never had the luck to try before. Why pass on the opportunity? Dustin could only snort at how stubborn this family of people was.

Dinner soon came to an end.