Chapter 115

The pendant slipped from Evelyn's grasp, tumbling down to land against Eleanor's wheelchair before bouncing onto the marble floor.

Evelyn gasped for air, her throat burning as crimson flushed across her cheeks. The medical gauze covering half her face did little to hide the panic in her wide, crystalline eyes.

"What in the world—" Eleanor's voice trembled as she struggled to rise from her chair. "William! William, come quickly!"

The elderly woman's shaking fingers closed around the golden locket, her breath coming in short bursts. When William rushed to her side, his face drained of color at the sight of the jewelry in his wife's palm.

"This...this is the custom piece we commissioned for our Lillian before she was born!" William's voice cracked. "Where did you find this?"

Evelyn's pulse hammered against her ribs. The world seemed to tilt as fragmented memories surfaced—her grandfather pressing the locket into her small hands, whispering words she couldn't quite recall.

Victoria's shrill accusation shattered the moment. "So you're the thief! I knew that pendant went missing under suspicious circumstances!"

Margaret advanced like a storm cloud, her designer heels clicking sharply against the floor. "After everything we've done for you—taking you in, giving you an education—this is how you repay us? By stealing Victoria's most precious heirloom?"

Tears welled in Victoria's expertly lined eyes. "First you try to take Alexander from me, now this? That pendant held my entire childhood, Evelyn!"

Evelyn opened her mouth to explain, but the words died in her throat as she watched the Montgomery's expressions shift from hopeful astonishment to disgusted contempt.

"You vile creature!" Eleanor spat, clutching the locket to her chest. "To think we almost—" She cut herself off with a shudder.

William's face darkened with fury. "Get out. If I ever see you near our family again, I'll have you arrested for theft and trespassing."

With trembling hands, he fastened the chain around Victoria's slender neck, his voice softening. "This belongs to you, my dear. Our real daughter."

The gold glinted cruelly against Victoria's flawless skin as she shot Evelyn a triumphant smirk. In that moment, the fragile hope that had flickered in Evelyn's chest extinguished completely.