Chapter 7

Alfie lifted my house arrest, granting me freedom to move around the city, ostensibly to facilitate meetings with Theo. I didn't seek Theo out immediately. Instead, I went on a shopping spree in the finest boutiques. I was leaving soon; I wanted to depart wearing beautiful things. Bodyguards trailed behind me, laden with shopping bags. That's when Theo's car pulled up beside me. Theo stepped out. The way he looked at me was different. Utterly different. "Is this bracelet yours?" Theo held out his hand. Nestled in his palm was a delicate crystal bracelet. I glanced at it. So this was the bracelet Alfie meant. I remembered it vividly, though Ruby had snatched it from me over twenty years ago. I'd cried for days, only to be mocked by her. "Yes. Mine." Theo stared at me, his grip tightening on my shoulders. "Yours... It was yours all along. I always thought... I always believed it was Ruby's. All these years..." His voice was thick. I remembered perfectly. My mother had strung the