Chapter 5

The next second, a tall figure stepped in front of me and blocked out everything else.

I froze for a second, but then I saw who it was, and everything inside me just gave out. I threw myself into his arms and started sobbing.

"Dad, the locket Mom gave me—it broke. It's broken, and I can't fix it, and I don't know what to do."

Richard's broad frame went stiff for just a moment, but then his rough hand came up and gently wiped the tears from my face.

His voice was so soft it almost didn't sound like him.…