“And the necklace?” I asked.
“That’s where things changed,” Desiree said. “It wasn’t ordinary. The design, the craftsmanship—it pointed to something older, something valuable. We dug deeper.”
“What did you find?”
“Not enough,” she admitted. “But enough to know it came from a very specific circle. The kind of people who don’t lose things like that… unless something has gone very wrong.”
A chill ran through me.
“Your Nana helped me open my first shop,” Desiree continued. “That’s how all this started. Over time, I expanded, built connections, and quietly kept watch.”
“For me?” I asked.
“For the necklace,” she corrected. “Because we knew one day, it might lead us back to your family.”
“And after your Nana passed, I kept searching for 20 years. I made it my responsibility. I wasn’t going to let that story end unfinished.”
I swallowed hard. “What happens now?”
“That depends on you,” she said.
“You really think you can find them?”
Her answer was steady. “I already have.”
My head snapped up. “What?”
