Chapter 1 – The Photograph
Chapter 1 – The Photograph
The ballroom remained frozen.
Crystal chandeliers shimmered above two hundred of the city's wealthiest guests, yet no one dared to speak.
The maid stood with her wrists locked in handcuffs, tears streaking down her face.
"I didn't steal anything," she whispered.
No one believed her.
Security had discovered the missing diamond necklace inside the housekeeping cart she had been pushing only minutes earlier.
The evidence seemed undeniable.
Marcus Ashford, the billionaire hosting the gala, had already ordered the police to take her away.
Then the photograph fell.
It slid across the polished marble floor until it stopped beside Marcus's polished shoes.
Almost absentmindedly, he bent down to pick it up.
His hand froze.
The picture showed a young woman smiling beside a little girl wearing two tiny braids.
The child couldn't have been older than five.
Around her neck hung a silver locket.
Marcus recognized it instantly.
His breathing stopped.
He owned the matching half.
For thirty years, he had carried it in his safe, believing the other half had disappeared forever the night his younger sister vanished during a fire that destroyed their family home.
He slowly looked at the maid.
"What... where did you get this photograph?"
Her eyes widened.
"My mother gave it to me before she died."
The room fell silent.
Marcus's voice trembled.
"What was your mother's name?"
"Evelyn."
The billionaire staggered backward.
May you like
That was his sister's name.
The same sister everyone had believed was dead.
