y released, I walked back into a house that no longer felt like mine. I

the couch together, bathed in the warm glow of a lamp. He was showing her pictures on his phone, his smile ge

could feel jealousy or longing had

an' t check on you tonight. Making sure Tiffan

a hollow laugh escaping

iamond necklace, "The Heart of the Sea," was up for sale. It was my mother' s. My father had so

d to get it back. It was the last piece

s elite, a sea of expensive suits and glittering jewelry. I saw them immediately. Ethan, looking impossibly handsome in

egan. I raised my paddle, my h

I said, my voic

a mixture of shock and annoyance. Tiffany whispered s

s own paddle.

ng to buy my mother' s necklace for t

I wouldn' t let the

ringing with a conviction that surp

the room. I would sell my

ed away. A moment later, Ethan stood up, a microphone in his hand.

his voice smooth and commanding, "I h

made my stomach churn. He got down on one knee and produced a velvet

voice echoing through the sile

ect display of surprise. She nodded tearfully as he sli

riumph. She held up her hand, flaunting the

y mother' s necklace lay. With a vicious, calculated smile, she swept it off its stand. The neck

throat. It was the sound of m

ppearing on her skin. She let out a piercing shriek. "

a mask of fury directed at me. "Chloe, what

etic whimper. "I was just so happy, and she...

ave me one last, triumphant look. Then, with a sub

the top of the grand staircase. The world spun, and then I was falling, the shocked face