chair, the leather sighing under my weight. Six months. Six months in a sterile Singapore office, fueled by lukewarm

ion from a neighborhood watch group back home in our affluent suburb, a p

treet. "Chloe, I don't want to alarm you, but I t

was a sho

mpt, graying hair, wearing a worn-out trench coat that was too big for her thin frame. She was ben

caught in

jaw, the elegant curve of her neck,

y mother

gift from me. A woman who was a former esteemed art restorer, whose hands were on

eighborhood where the garbage trucks probably hauled aw

ferred a substantial amount into a trust fund for her, enough to ensure she would never have to worry about money again. I paid for

ation. Social media. My stepfather, Mark, wasn't very active, but the housekeeper, Brenda, was. I had insi

gs, weekend trips to Napa. All posted within the last six months. My sto

ely. A custom-made silk organza dress, in a shade of deep emerald green I had commission

s necklace. A cascade of deep blue stones set in antique platinum, a piece so distinctive and val

y mother's necklace.

sn't just that the items were being worn by someone else. It was those items. Th

had n

The woman in the video, rummaging through trash, and the woman in this photo, flaunting stolen luxur