Chapter 1 - The Weight of the FrameThe black velvet pouch felt like a lead weight as Vera held it up, a triumphant smirk ghosting her lips. The security officers took a step forward, their faces stern and uncompromising. I didn't reach for it. I didn't beg. I stood perfectly still, my mind racing through the years I’d spent at the legal clinic, analyzing how a case is built—and more importantly, how it is dismantled.
"I didn't put that there," I said, my voice steady, betraying none of the fear clawing at my throat.
"Save it for the police, Tessa," Mrs. Dallow replied, her voice filled with a weary disappointment that stung more than the accusation.
"Call Adrien," I commanded, meeting her gaze. "If you don't, you are complicit in the theft of twelve million dollars. I just returned the necklace under the supervision of Eleanor and Vera. If it’s here, it was planted. Think about the timeline, Mrs. Dallow. How could I have moved it, returned it, and then been back here in under sixty seconds?"
The housekeeper hesitated. Her eyes flickered toward Vera, who was now holding the pouch with surgical precision.
"Adrien is in the study," Vera said, her voice smooth as oil. "He doesn't want to be bothered by housekeepers. Let’s go."
As they moved to seize me, I didn't resist. Resistance was for the guilty. Instead, I let them lead me toward the main foyer, but I pivoted toward the library, my voice echoing through the grand hallway. "Adrien! The theft you're investigating is a fraud!"
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The library doors swung open. Adrien Cole stood there, his face a mask of cold fury. Eleanor stood beside him, her dark glasses still perfectly centered, her hand resting on his arm. She looked like the portrait of a grieving, wronged victim.
"Adrien," Eleanor whispered, her voice trembling with perfect theatricality. "I'm so sorry. I told you she was obsessed with the necklace. She was so angry when she saw me wearing it."
