Chapter 4
Celeste covered the bracelet with her hand.
Too late.
I knew that chain.
I knew the tiny moon charm.
I knew the broken clasp I had meant to repair before the campaign shoot.
My knees weakened.
“That’s mine.”
Celeste glared at me.
“No, it isn’t.”
I stepped forward.
“My mother gave it to me when I turned sixteen.”
“You cannot prove that.”
Julian looked at her wrist.
“Take it off.”
Celeste laughed.
“You are not serious.”
“Take it off.”
His voice was no longer gentle.
Celeste looked around the room.
Everyone stared.
Her father, Grant Ashford, stood near the far end of the table. He had been smiling all night, proud of his daughter’s engagement to a billionaire.
Now his face was stone.
“Celeste,” he said. “Do as he says.”
She slowly unclasped the bracelet and placed it on the table.
I reached for it.
Celeste slapped my hand away.
A few guests gasped.
Julian caught my wrist before I stumbled.
His touch was careful.
Not owning.
Not controlling.
Just steady.
I stared at the bracelet.
On the back of the moon charm were three tiny letters.
M.E.E.
Mara Elena Ellison.
My mother had engraved them herself.
I whispered, “That’s mine.”
Julian picked it up and turned it over.
His eyes darkened.
“M.E.E.”
Beatrice began crying harder.
Celeste snapped, “She probably gave it to me years ago.”
“I never gave you anything,” I said.
Her eyes flashed.
“You gave me plenty.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
Julian heard it.
So did I.
“What did she give you?” he asked.
Celeste’s face drained.
Grant Ashford stepped closer.
“Celeste.”
She turned on him.
“Don’t.”
That one word changed everything.
Her father looked afraid of her.
I had seen many things in rich rooms.
Boredom.
Cruelty.
Lust.
Greed.
But seeing a powerful man fear his own daughter told me the night was not just about an old stolen bracelet.
Julian lifted his phone.
“Security room. Now.”
Celeste lunged.
“Julian, no.”
He looked at her.
“Why are you afraid of footage?”
May you like
She whispered, “Because you won’t understand.”
He answered, “Then show me.”
