Chapter 5
By the time the party ended, it was almost eleven.
I sat alone on a sofa in the corner of the hall. No one bothered to call me to the car.
The waiters started clearing the plates. People would glance at me as they walked by, then quickly look away.
My phone buzzed.
It was a text message from an unknown number. [Ms. Sutton, where did you get that emerald pendant you're wearing around your neck?]
I stared at the message for a long time.
No one ever called me Ms. Sutton.
Everyone around Charles called me Emily.
I didn't reply.
Another message popped up. [Hope you don't mind me reaching out. I'm Edward Foster. I ran into you in the hallway tonight.
[That emerald pendant you were wearing has a really rare pattern. I actually saw the same design somewhere else. If you're free, maybe we could meet and chat about it?]
That was the old guy in the gray suit I ran into in the hallway.
I was about to reply when Charles's call came in.
"Where are you? Come out. The car's waiting at the door," he said.
He hung up.
I glanced at the two messages, saved the number, then got up and headed out.
When I got to the car, Olivia was already sitting in the passenger seat.
She'd swapped out her party heels for bare feet, resting her head on Charles's shoulder, half-asleep.
I opened the back door and got in.
Charles glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "You look terrible."
It wasn't a question, but a statement.
He didn't wait for my reply before starting the car.
The car was quiet for about five minutes.
Olivia, half-asleep, suddenly mumbled, "Charles, when is Emily ever going to leave?"
Charles patted her hand. "Soon."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
He didn't turn to look at me, but the rearview mirror was angled right for me to catch his profile. His reply had no hesitation at all.
I glanced down at my phone. The number I'd saved was sitting there in my contacts.
I had no idea why Edward was so interested in this emerald pendant.
But what bothered me far more was another thing.
He said he'd seen the same one somewhere else.
I always thought this emerald pendant was some cheap trinket from the orphanage.
But if there was another one out there, it meant it wasn't some random thing.
It was part of a set.
The car pulled up to the villa. Charles cradled Olivia in his arms as they went upstairs.
No one paid me any attention.
I walked into the guest room on the first floor, closed the door, sat down on the bed, and reread those two messages.
*****
The next afternoon, I was packing up to move to the old house out in the suburbs.
The guest room door swung open.
Olivia stood in the doorway, wearing a white slip dress, with Maggie right behind her.
Olivia walked in, crouched down next to me, and picked up one of my old coats to take a look. "Emily, are you packing up? This coat is so old-fashioned. No wonder Charles..."
She didn't finish her sentence, laughing to herself.
Maggie stood in the doorway, arms crossed, clearly enjoying the show. "Actually, I came here to tell you something."
She set the coat down and stood up.
The innocence on her face faded away, and her true colors started to show.
"Last night at the party, a lot of people asked me if you stole my jewelry," she said.
"What?" I asked.
"I know that worthless emerald pendant around your neck isn't worth a dime, but what about the ruby necklace set? After the party, I searched everywhere and couldn't find it.
"Charles gave it to me for my birthday. Did you swipe it when I wasn't paying attention?"
"That jewelry set belongs to me."
"Yours?" Olivia's eyes popped open, like I'd told her the sky was green. "Charles said he bought that set to match the dress. He gave me the dress, so obviously the jewelry is mine too. If you think otherwise, go ask him yourself."
"Fine, I'll ask him right now," I said, standing up.
Olivia darted in front of the door, blocking my way, and suddenly let out a piercing scream.
She threw herself backward, slamming into the doorframe, clutching her chest with one hand while pulling the strap of her slip dress down with the other.
"What are you doing?" I shouted.
"Are you crazy? You hit me." Olivia's shrill cries echoed down the hallway.
Footsteps thundered down the stairs.
Charles stormed into the guest room.
When he saw Olivia huddled by the door, her slip dress slipping off her shoulder and a fresh red mark on her skin, his face instantly darkened. "What happened?"
Olivia rushed into his arms, trembling. "Charles, I came to talk to her, and she suddenly pushed me and grabbed my clothes."
"I didn't touch her," I said.
Charles didn't look at me.
"Olivia, where are you hurt?" he asked.
"I'm fine." Olivia shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I don't blame her. She's upset. If she needs to take it out on me, that's okay. As long as you don't get mad, Charles."
The more she said that, the darker Charles's face got.
He turned to look at me. "Say something."
"She yanked her own dress down and made those marks herself," I said.
"Emily," Charles snapped. "She's a twenty-year-old girl. What reason would she have to hurt herself right in front of you? Do you take me for a fool?"
Olivia sniffled, then looked up with teary eyes. "Charles, please don't yell at her. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have bothered her while she was packing. She threatened me and said she wanted me dead."
My throat tightened, and I couldn't get a single word out.
"And about the jewelry," Maggie threw in from the doorway, "that ruby necklace set is gone. Maybe you should check if someone helped themselves to it."
Charles's brows knitted together. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Grace, call the police. My wife's ruby necklace set is missing. It's worth one hundred million dollars. The person who took it is right here in my house."
I was stunned.
He kept his head down, comforting Olivia, and tossed out a line without looking at me. "Emily, you're so immature."