A Stranger at the Door
Chapter 09 - A Stranger at the Door
Two days before the scheduled house sale, Caroline Wells appeared at the door.
She carried a small velvet box.
Robert froze when he saw it.
Caroline placed the box on the kitchen table.
Inside was Margaret’s sapphire necklace.
Emma looked at her in shock.
“I can’t take this.”
Caroline smiled gently.
“I think it belongs here.”
Emma insisted on paying her.
Caroline refused.
Then she explained why.
Years earlier, Caroline had lost her own daughter after a long illness.
When she read Margaret’s letter, she understood what the necklace represented.
“It was never really jewelry,” Caroline said.
“It was unfinished business.”
Robert covered his face.
Caroline turned to him.
“Your wife didn’t ask me to return this.”
Robert looked up.
“She didn’t?”
“No. She asked me to make sure Emma knew the truth.”
Emma held the necklace.
Margaret had not cared whether the sapphire returned.
She cared whether her family stopped living inside a lie.
That afternoon, Emma made a decision.
May you like
She would not put the necklace back in the box.
Not yet.
