Chapter 24
I made it barely ten feet down the hallway before my hand brushed my collar-and panic hit like a slap.
The locket.
I stopped dead, checked my pockets, then checked them again. Nothing. My fingers moved to my neckline, frantic, hoping I’d just missed it. But I knew the weight of it. I knew what it felt like when it was gone.
I must’ve dropped it. Back in the lounge. Right before everything exploded.
“I left something,” I said quickly to Nathan, already turning on my heel.
“Want me to grab it?” he asked, but I was already hurrying away.
The door was still ajar. I pushed it open carefully, trying not to make a sound.
But they were still there.
Richard stood with his back to me, arms crossed tightly. Jenny was pacing near the window, arms flailing
slightly, her face flushed and tense.
“You didn’t even tell me she was staying here!” Jenny was saying, voice sharp and shaking. “How am I
supposed to feel about that?”
Richard didn’t flinch. “I didn’t think it was something you needed to weigh in on.’
“She’s my best friend. Or she was. And now you’re hiding her in our house?”
I stepped inside quietly, eyes scanning the room. The locket wasn’t on the armrest. Not on the table. My eyes
flicked to the floor.
There. Just under the edge of the chair. I moved toward it fast.
Jenny saw me. “Of course. Of course you came back.”
I froze, halfway to the floor. “I just-I left something.”
“Let me guess,” she said, voice like venom. “Your sad little necklace?”
I didn’t answer. Just knelt and reached for it.
But Jenny moved faster.
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She swooped down, snatched it up before I could touch it. Her eyes blazed. “You and your secrets. You and
timing.”
“Jenny, please don’t-”
She didn’t even wait for me to finish. In one fluid motion, she crossed to the window, snapped it open, and
hurled the locket out into the air.
your
I gasped and rushed to the window. The metal flashed in the sunlight as it tumbled, bounced off a hedge, and disappeared into the bushes below.
The room was silent except for the faint rustle of leaves.
Jenny didn’t look back. She shoved past Richard and stormed out the door, slamming it behind her so hard the
frame rattled.
My breath shook as I stared out the window.
“It’s my fault,” I whispered. “I shouldn’t have come back in. I should’ve left her alone.”
11
“No,” Richard said firmly. “This time, she crossed the line. I wouldn’t have even known what was happening if
Nathan hadn’t reached out.”
I turned toward him, still trembling. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”
Richard sighed. “She’s got her driver. And she’s pissed off enough to need space. But yeah. She’ll be fine.”
I nodded slowly, gaze drifting back toward the window.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go find it.”
Outside, the sun had just begun to lower. The bushes lining the west side of the building were dense, spiny, and
filled with old mulch.
I crouched near the first hedge, pushing branches aside, trying to catch a glimpse of silver. My hands were
already scratched.
Behind me, I heard a rustle and looked up to see Richard slipping off his blazer. Without a word, he rolled up his
sleeves and stepped into the thickest patch of shrubs.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said. “Really. It’s not that important.”
“You wear it every day,” he said. “That makes it important.”
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Chciptor
I blinked, caught off guard. He noticed that? I hadn’t realized anyone had. The idea that he’d bee
much attention made my chest tighten in a way I really wasn’t ready to unpack.
“It’s just old,” I mumbled. “I’ve just had it forever.”
He glanced over at me. “That sounds like the exact definition of important.”
I tried to smile, but it didn’t reach. I turned back to the bushes, hands brushing through leaves a
“You’re going to ruin your suit.”
“It’s just a suit, Amelia. I’ll survive.”
