Chapter 2: The Certificate
Nobody spoke.
The chandelier lights reflected off the diamonds, but the necklace suddenly looked different.
Less like jewelry.
More like evidence.
Richard held the certificate between both hands.
His expression had become unreadable.
Evelyn stood several feet away, one hand gripping the side of her emerald gown.
“Give me that,” she said.
Richard didn't move.
“Evelyn,” he said, “this registration number matches the tag.””
She swallowed.
“So?””
Grace stepped closer.
“So the necklace belongs to my mother.””
Evelyn laughed nervously.
“Your mother? You expect this room to believe that?””
Grace looked at Richard.
“Read the owner's name.””
Richard lowered his eyes to the certificate.
His voice was quiet.
“Margaret Hale.””
Grace nodded.
“That was my mother.””
A murmur moved through the guests.
An older woman near the auction table covered her mouth.
Richard looked at Grace.
“Margaret Hale?””
“Yes.””
“You're her daughter?””
“Yes.””
Richard's eyes flicked toward Evelyn.
“Then how did Evelyn acquire it?””
Evelyn immediately answered.
“She bought it.””
Grace shook her head.
“No.””
“She bought it from an estate dealer,” Richard said.
Grace replied, “That's what she told you.””
Evelyn's voice rose.
“Careful.””
Grace didn't flinch.
“My mother never sold that necklace.””
“You weren't there.””
“I was.””
Evelyn stared at her.
Grace's voice softened.
“I was twenty-one when she died. I was sitting beside her hospital bed when she gave me the certificate.””
The ballroom went quiet again.
“She couldn't speak much by then,” Grace continued.
“But she told me something.””
Evelyn crossed her arms.
“This is becoming pathetic.””
Grace looked straight at her.
“She said, ‘If Evelyn ever wears it, don't accuse her. Make her prove how she got it.’”
The color drained from Evelyn's face.
Richard noticed.
“So you knew Evelyn?””
Grace nodded.
“My mother worked for the Whitmore family for seventeen years.””
A guest whispered, “She was their housekeeper?””
Grace answered without looking away from Evelyn.
“She was more than that.””
Evelyn snapped, “Enough.””
Richard raised a hand.
“No. Let her finish.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“You're taking the word of a maid over mine?””
Richard's expression hardened.
“I'm taking the document seriously.””
He turned the certificate over.
“There are signatures here.””
Grace nodded.
“My mother's.””
Richard traced the lines with his finger.
“And a second signature.””
Grace's eyes didn't leave Evelyn.
“Yes.””
Evelyn's breathing changed.
“You don't know what that means.””
Grace replied, “I know exactly what it means.””
Richard looked toward the necklace.
Then back at the certificate.
“The original transfer date is six years ago.””
Grace shook her head.
“No.””
Richard frowned.
“What?””
Grace pointed toward the bottom.
“Keep reading.””
Richard lowered the document.
His face changed.
There was another line beneath the original registration.
A handwritten transfer entry.
A recent date.
Yesterday.
Richard looked at Evelyn.
“Why was this transferred yesterday?””
Evelyn said nothing.
“Evelyn?””
She finally answered.
“It was paperwork.””
“What paperwork?””
“Private paperwork.””
Grace stepped closer.
“You signed it.””
Evelyn's eyes flashed.
“You don't understand anything about our family.””
Grace's voice was barely above a whisper.
“I understand enough.””
Evelyn suddenly reached for the certificate.
Grace pulled it away.
“Give it to me.””
“No.””
“That's private property.””
“Then call the police.””
That stopped Evelyn.
The guests reacted immediately.
Someone whispered, “Call them.””
Another guest pulled out a phone.
Evelyn looked around.
“This is insane.””
Richard held out his hand toward Grace.
“May I?””
Grace hesitated.
Then gave him the document.
Richard compared the handwritten line with the signature.
His eyes widened.
“Evelyn…”
She didn't answer.
He turned the certificate toward the nearest guests.
“The registered owner is her mother.””
A collective gasp moved through the ballroom.
Grace watched Evelyn carefully.
Evelyn took one step backward.
Then another.
Her eyes found the exit.
Grace noticed.
“Where are you going?””
Evelyn didn't answer.
Richard looked again at the bottom of the certificate.
Then his face hardened.
“There is something else.””
Grace frowned.
“What?””
Richard held the paper closer to the light.
“The transfer wasn't just signed yesterday.””
He looked at Evelyn.
“It was witnessed yesterday.””
Evelyn's lips parted.
Richard turned the page over.
A second name was written beneath the signature.
His eyes widened.
“Who witnessed this?””
Evelyn whispered, “Richard…”
He looked up.
“You.””
The room erupted in whispers.
Grace stared at him.
Richard stared at the document.
And Evelyn suddenly smiled.
Not at Richard.
At the ballroom doors.
May you like
Because they had just opened.
And the person walking through them was carrying a black leather briefcase.
