Chapter 6 - The Hummingbird Necklace
The key had been hidden inside the hummingbird necklace.
The same necklace Theresa was wearing when I returned.
Dad gave the pendant to me years earlier and told me to give it to Lucy on our fifth anniversary.
I thought it was sentimental.
Apparently, Dad had modified it.
A tiny internal compartment.
Lucy discovered the hidden key accidentally when the clasp broke.
The next day, Theresa saw her examining it.
“She took it?”
Lucy nodded.
“She said family jewelry belonged to the family.”
“And the key?”
“She pretended there wasn’t one.”
That explained why Theresa still wore the necklace.
She wasn’t flaunting stolen jewelry.
She was carrying whatever Dad had hidden.
I changed the bait.
I texted my mother:
The settlement lawyer wants proof of Dad’s old investments. Bring the hummingbird necklace tomorrow. He said Dad documented something inside it.
Theresa didn’t respond for eight minutes.
Then:
Lucy has filled your head with nonsense.
I wrote:
Probably. Bring it anyway.
Nothing.
Ten minutes later, Brianna called.
I let it ring.
She called again.
Then texted:
Please stop provoking Mom. You don’t understand what Stephen is capable of.
I stared at those words.
Not Theresa.
Stephen.
I replied:
Then explain.
No answer.
Brianna had been cruel.
She laughed at Lucy.
Used my money.
Helped humiliate her.
But fear was beginning to show beneath the arrogance.
Maybe she wasn’t simply hiding what she did.
Maybe she was afraid of the same man we were.
The next morning Theresa entered Lucy’s hospital room carrying flowers.
Stephen walked behind her.
Gray suit.
Silver hair.
Warm smile.
“Nathan.”
He opened his arms.
I didn’t move.
His smile barely changed.
“Heard you finally caught a break in Canada.”
“I did.”
“A million?”
Theresa answered for me.
“Yes.”
Too eager.
Stephen glanced at her.
Interesting.
I placed a folder on the table.
“My lawyer wants me to consolidate everything. Settlement. Dad’s trust. Property.”
Stephen remained calm.
“What trust?”
He was good.
I smiled.
“The one you’ve been managing.”
Silence.
Theresa’s fingers tightened around her purse.
Stephen’s eyes moved toward Lucy.
She shrank slightly beneath the blanket.
That small reaction made me want to tear him apart.
Instead, I kept my voice even.
“I’m told there’s more than four million dollars involved.”
Stephen smiled again.
“Sounds like someone has fed you internet nonsense.”
“Maybe.”
I held out my hand.
“Mom. Necklace.”
Theresa didn’t move.
“Why?”
“Because Dad hid a key inside.”
Stephen’s face changed.
Only for a fraction of a second.
But I saw it.
So did Brianna.
She had entered the doorway behind them without anyone noticing.
And when Theresa slowly reached toward the hummingbird pendant—
May you like
Brianna screamed:
“DON’T GIVE HIM THAT!”
