Chapter 4 - The Emerald Lie
Andrew returned to the lobby like a man walking through a nightmare.
Brenda stood when she saw him.
Margaret rushed forward.
“Well?”
Andrew ignored his mother.
He stared at Brenda.
“Take it off.”
Brenda frowned.
“What?”
“The necklace.”
Her hand moved toward the emerald.
“Why?”
Andrew stepped closer.
“Take it off.”
People across the lobby began watching.
Brenda lowered her voice.
“Andrew, not here.”
“You said Mariana stole it.”
“She did.”
“Then what is that?”
Brenda froze.
Margaret looked between them.
“She probably recovered it.”
Andrew stared at Brenda.
“From where?”
Brenda’s mouth opened.
No answer came.
Andrew suddenly remembered the ballroom.
Brenda crying.
Brenda claiming she had left the necklace in the upstairs powder room.
Brenda saying she saw Mariana near the staircase.
Andrew had never checked.
He had never asked security.
He had simply believed the woman he wanted to believe.
“Give it to me.”
Brenda stepped back.
“No.”
“Brenda.”
“It’s mine.”
Andrew’s expression changed.
“You said it belonged to your grandmother.”
“It did.”
“Then why did you tell everyone it disappeared?”
Brenda looked around.
“We should discuss this privately.”
A voice came from behind them.
“I agree.”
Everyone turned.
Mariana stood near the elevator.
Two security officers were beside her.
Her attorney held a tablet.
Brenda’s face went white.
Mariana walked forward.
“The necklace never disappeared.”
Brenda recovered quickly.
“You don’t know that.”
Mariana looked at the attorney.
He tapped the screen.
A security video appeared.
The timestamp showed 7:48 p.m. the previous night.
Brenda entered the upstairs powder room.
She removed the emerald necklace.
Then she placed it inside her own purse.
At 8:03, she entered a guest bedroom.
She removed the necklace again.
She slipped it into a velvet case.
At 8:17, she walked into the ballroom.
And screamed that it had been stolen.
Andrew stared at the footage.
Brenda’s breathing became shallow.
Margaret looked stunned.
“That proves nothing.”
Mariana almost smiled.
“It proves she lied.”
Brenda pointed at her.
“You’re trying to destroy me.”
“No.”
Mariana’s eyes moved toward Andrew.
“You destroyed yourself.”
Andrew looked at Brenda.
“Why?”
Brenda’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because she was never going to leave you.”
Andrew stepped back.
“What?”
“You kept saying you were unhappy.”
Brenda’s voice broke.
“You said you wanted a future with me.”
Margaret looked at her son.
“You said that?”
Andrew ignored her.
Brenda continued.
“I needed Mariana gone.”
“So you framed her?”
“I thought you’d divorce her.”
Andrew laughed bitterly.
“You watched me hit her.”
Brenda said nothing.
“You watched me humiliate her.”
“You chose to do that.”
The words landed hard.
Because they were true.
Andrew turned away.
Mariana watched him.
For one second, she almost saw the man she had married.
Then he turned toward her.
“Mariana.”
She knew what was coming.
“I’m sorry.”
There it was.
The first apology.
Four years too late.
Mariana shook her head.
“Not enough.”
Andrew stepped closer.
“I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t want to know.”
“I can fix this.”
“No.”
“We can fix this.”
“There is no we.”
Andrew’s eyes hardened slightly.
That tiny shift told Mariana everything.
His remorse still had conditions.
He was sorry because he had lost control.
Not because he had understood what he had done.
Mariana turned toward security.
“Escort them out.”
Margaret gasped.
“You can’t treat us like criminals.”
Mariana looked at her.
“Mrs. Whitmore, I’m treating you like visitors who have been asked to leave.”
Margaret stepped forward.
“You ungrateful little—”
Andrew grabbed his mother’s arm.
“Stop.”
Margaret stared at him.
For the first time in four years, Andrew had stopped his mother from insulting Mariana.
It no longer mattered.
The elevator doors opened.
Before Andrew entered, Mariana spoke.
“One more thing.”
He turned.
“You have seventy-two hours to leave the mansion.”
Margaret’s face collapsed.
Andrew stared at Mariana.
“Where are we supposed to go?”
Mariana held his gaze.
May you like
“Last night, you didn’t care where I went.”
The elevator doors closed.
