Chapter 232

• "You'd be right if that were the whole story," Margaret said, her voice tinged with something between regret and vulnerability. "Your mother did seem reluctant to let go of the bracelet that day. But after I insisted, she handed it over. The Golden Tower refunded her on the spot, and I thought that was the end of it. Everything appeared above board."
• I didn’t reply. Years of navigating high-stakes negotiations had taught me when to speak and when to stay quiet. Something in Margaret’s tone told me this story had more layers. So I waited.
• Margaret gave a small, sheepish laugh, as though catching herself in a rare moment of transparency. “It wasn’t until I returned home and took a closer look that I noticed something off. The bracelet I’d commissioned was supposed to have five stones this one had six.”