Part 7
“The locket?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She didn’t explain.”
“She wrote a letter specifically ordering you not to give me a necklace, and she didn’t explain?”
“She was ill.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is the truth.”
Richard stood over his sister.
“What else did she ask you to hide?”
“Nothing.”
“Did you tell me about this letter?”
“You were drinking in the garage before breakfast.”
His face darkened.
“That does not answer me.”
“No. I did not tell you.”
Claire looked between them. Her father’s drinking after Evelyn’s death had lasted months, not years, but the family still treated it like a structural weakness in the house—something repaired but never tested.
Ruth leaned forward.
“Your mother was frightened. The medication made her confused. She gave contradictory instructions. I tried to follow the ones that caused the least harm.”
“To whom?” Claire asked.
Ruth’s eyes shifted.
Claire repeated the question.
“To whom did you think the truth would cause harm?”
“I did not say truth.”
“You said harm.”
“They are not the same thing.”
Richard paced toward the window.
Daniel remained near the glass table, not touching the locket. His face had lost some of its calm. The line of his jaw tightened whenever Ruth answered indirectly.
Claire looked at Paula.
“When Nora found it, what happened?”
The florist’s voice was reluctant.
“She brought it to Ruth.”
“You were there?”
“No. Nora told me later.”
“What did Ruth do?”
“She said it was stolen.”
Ruth turned.
“I said it had been missing.”
“You threatened to call the police.”
The word changed the room, though no police were present and none had been called.
Lily looked up from the adjoining doorway.
Claire lowered her voice.
“Why would you threaten her?”
Ruth’s face flushed.
“I did not know her. She had access to valuable belongings.”
“She brought it to you.”
“That does not prove she hadn’t taken something else.”
Paula laughed without humor.
“That was what you said then too.”
Ruth ignored her.
“What did Nora do with it?” Daniel asked.
“She left,” Paula said.
“With the locket?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you report it?”
Ruth lifted her chin.
“I had no proof she took it.”
“You just said it was stolen.”
“I believed it was.”
Daniel looked toward the locket.
“And for six years, you didn’t tell Claire that you knew who had it.”
Ruth’s eyes hardened.
“I did not know where Nora went.”
“You knew her name.”
“That would have changed nothing.”
Claire sat again, not because she wanted to but because her knees had begun to feel unreliable.
“It would have changed what I believed.”
Ruth’s expression softened.
“Claire.”
“No.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From a necklace?”
“From your mother’s state of mind.”
“My mother’s state of mind did not put that locket around Lily’s neck today.”
“No. A vindictive woman did.”
Paula stepped out of the adjoining room.
“Nora is many things. Vindictive isn’t one of them.”
“You have known her for years and still allowed her to abandon her daughter at a stranger’s wedding.”
“She didn’t abandon Lily.”
“Then where is she?”
Paula looked away.
Claire saw fear return to the florist’s face.
“You know.”
“No.”
“You know something.”
“I know Nora wouldn’t leave without a reason.”
“What reason?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you expected this.”
“No.”
“You recognized the locket.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew she wanted me to see it.”
Paula’s silence was answer enough.
Daniel moved toward her.
“Did Nora ask you to get Lily into the wedding?”
Paula pressed her lips together.
“Yes.”
Marian inhaled sharply near the door.
Ruth stood.
“This is an ambush.”
Claire looked at Paula.
“Why did you help her?”
“Because she said it was the only way you’d look at it before Ruth could stop you.”
Ruth turned toward the door.
Richard blocked her path.
“Sit down.”
“Move.”
“No.”
“You have no right to detain me.”
“No one is detaining you. You’re free to walk into the ballroom and explain why the bride isn’t coming.”
Ruth stared at him.
For the first time that afternoon, Claire saw her aunt lose control entirely. Not with shouting or tears. With stillness. Ruth’s hands hung at her sides, empty and unprepared.
Paula lowered her voice.
“Nora didn’t want money. She didn’t want a scene.”
“She created one,” Ruth said.
“She asked for a private meeting.”
“With Claire?” Daniel asked.
“With Ruth. Three times.”
Claire looked at her aunt.
Ruth’s silence thickened.
“What did she want?” Claire asked.
“She wanted me to confirm a fantasy.”
“What fantasy?”
“That Evelyn intended the locket for her.”
Lily was listening from the doorway. Claire could see the child trying to understand whether her mother was being called a liar.
“Why would she think that?” Daniel asked.
“Because she is unstable.”
Paula shook her head.
“She had the letter.”
Ruth’s head turned sharply.
Claire felt a pulse at the base of her throat.
“What letter?”
Paula’s eyes remained on Ruth.
“One Nora found with the locket.”
“You said my mother’s letter was to you.”
“It was,” Ruth said.
“Was there another?”
“No.”
Paula said, “There was.”
Ruth crossed the room toward her.
Daniel stepped between them, not aggressively, simply occupying the space.
Ruth stopped.
Paula folded her arms.
“Nora showed me a photograph of it years ago. She was afraid to keep the original.”
“Where is the photograph?” Claire asked.
“I don’t have it.”
“Who does?”
“Nora.”
“Is it on her phone?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did the letter say?”
Paula looked toward Lily.
“Not much. The paper was torn.”
“Tell me what you remember.”
“There were only pieces. Evelyn’s name at the bottom. Something about two girls. Something about keeping a promise until they were old enough.”
Claire’s fingers went cold.
Richard sat down again.
Daniel turned toward him.
“You know what that means.”
It was not a question.
Richard looked at Claire.
“I don’t.”
“You reacted.”
“I reacted because Evelyn wrote things near the end that none of us understood.”
May you like
Claire’s voice sharpened.
“Stop saying she was confused.”
