What she had not learned—what she had not yet truly believed—was that Carol was capable of something far worse than humiliation.
So Lily stepped into the kitchen with the velvet pouch in her hand and said, “Why do you have Mom’s bracelet?”
Carol turned.
For a second, something flashed across her face so cold and sharp that Lily almost stepped back. Then Carol smiled, slow and thin.
“Excuse me?”
“My mom’s bracelet,” Lily said, her throat tightening. “And her ring. They’re missing.”
Carol ended the call and set her phone on the counter. “You should think very carefully before you accuse me of anything.”
“I heard you.”
“Hearing half a conversation is not the same as understanding it.”
Lily held up the pouch. “They were in here.”
Carol folded her arms. “And?”
