CHAPTER 3 — THE MISTRESS WHO WORE MY EMERALD
CHAPTER 3 — THE MISTRESS WHO WORE MY EMERALD
Vanessa woke the next morning believing she was still winning.
That was the first mistake.
She opened her eyes in the penthouse bedroom, stretched beneath Egyptian-cotton sheets, and smiled at the sunlight spilling through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
For nine years, Elena had slept here.
Now Vanessa did.
She turned her head toward the empty side of the bed.
Julian was gone.
For a moment, she was annoyed.
Then she noticed the breakfast tray.
Fresh fruit.
Coffee.
Pastries.
A handwritten note.
I'll handle everything. Don't worry.
Vanessa smiled.
She believed him.
She believed the penthouse was hers.
The emerald was hers.
The resort was hers.
And Elena was gone.
That belief lasted exactly eleven minutes.
At 8:17 a.m., Vanessa walked into the dressing room.
She opened the wardrobe.
Hundreds of garments hung inside.
Designer gowns.
Handmade coats.
Silk dresses.
Shoes arranged by color.
Jewelry boxes lined the shelves.
She smiled.
Then she noticed something strange.
A red light blinked beside the closet.
Vanessa frowned.
She touched the security panel.
ACCESS DENIED.
She tried again.
ACCESS DENIED.
“What?”
She entered her code.
Nothing.
She tried Julian's birthday.
Nothing.
She tried the last four digits of his phone number.
Nothing.
Then the entire wardrobe system locked.
A calm female voice announced:
“Private property access has been revoked.”
Vanessa stepped backward.
“Excuse me?”
No response.
She grabbed her phone.
She called Julian.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Her smile disappeared.
She walked into the bedroom.
The television turned on automatically.
A message appeared.
CALLAHAN FAMILY TRUST PROPERTY
Below it:
UNAUTHORIZED OCCUPANCY WILL BE REMOVED.
Vanessa stared.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“No, no, no.”
She ran toward the door.
Before she reached it, the elevator chimed.
Two security officers stepped out.
Behind them stood a woman in a dark suit.
“Ms. Laurent?”
Vanessa froze.
“Yes?”
“My name is Patricia Reed. I'm representing Callahan Family Trust.”
Vanessa's face tightened.
“Julian owns this apartment.”
“No.”
“He does.”
“He doesn't.”
Patricia opened a folder.
“The penthouse is owned by Callahan International Properties.”
“Julian controls the company.”
“Not anymore.”
Vanessa swallowed.
“I am Julian's partner.”
Patricia looked at her.
“You were his mistress.”
The words landed like a slap.
Vanessa's cheeks burned.
“I don't appreciate that tone.”
“I wasn't making a judgment.”
Patricia closed the folder.
“I was describing your legal status.”
Vanessa looked toward the bedroom.
“I live here.”
“You have thirty minutes to collect personal belongings.”
“This is insane.”
“No.”
Patricia looked at the emerald around Vanessa's neck.
“That is.”
Vanessa instinctively touched it.
“What?”
“The necklace.”
She stepped closer.
“Remove it.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Julian gave this to me.”
“He had no authority to give it to you.”
“It was a gift.”
“It was not his property.”
Vanessa laughed nervously.
“You can't be serious.”
Patricia's expression remained cold.
“I'm completely serious.”
Thirty minutes later, Vanessa stood in the lobby with three suitcases.
No driver.
No assistant.
No security.
No Julian.
She stared at the building.
She had entered it six months earlier wearing cheap heels and carrying one suitcase.
She had left that woman behind.
Or so she thought.
Now she was standing outside with the same three things.
Except this time, she had no man promising her a future.
She had only a borrowed coat and a stolen emerald.
She looked down at the necklace.
The emerald seemed to glow in the morning sunlight.
For the first time, Vanessa wondered why Elena had always been so protective of it.
She had once asked Julian.
He had laughed.
“It's just jewelry.”
Apparently it wasn't.
Across town, Elena sat in the Callahan headquarters conference room.
A jeweler stood in front of her.
He was an elderly man named Thomas.
He opened a velvet box.
Inside lay the emerald pendant.
Elena looked at it.
“My grandmother wore this.”
Thomas nodded.
“For thirty-eight years.”
“Where did she get it?”
“Her father gave it to her.”
“Where did he get it?”
Thomas hesitated.
“That's complicated.”
Elena looked up.
“Everything about my family seems complicated.”
He smiled faintly.
“The emerald is called the Green Star.”
She frowned.
“I've heard that name.”
“It isn't just a family jewel.”
“What is it?”
Thomas removed the pendant carefully.
He turned it over.
A tiny engraving appeared beneath the setting.
C.F.T.
Elena stared.
“Callahan Family Trust.”
“Yes.”
“Why would that be engraved on jewelry?”
“Because the pendant is technically not owned by an individual.”
Elena looked confused.
“Then who owns it?”
“The trust.”
“So my grandmother never actually owned it?”
“She was the custodian.”
“Why?”
Thomas looked at her.
“Because the person who wears the Green Star is traditionally the recognized protector of the family's controlling interest.”
Elena stared.
“Traditionally?”
Thomas nodded.
“Your grandmother wore it.”
“Then my mother?”
“She refused.”
“Why?”
“She said she didn't want the responsibility.”
Elena looked down.
“And I?”
Thomas smiled.
“Your grandmother gave it to you when you were twenty-one.”
“I thought she gave me a necklace.”
“She gave you a symbol.”
Elena remembered that day.
Her grandmother had placed the pendant around her neck.
She had whispered:
“One day, you'll understand.”
Elena had laughed.
She had been too young.
Now she understood.
The emerald wasn't merely sentimental.
It represented authority.
And Julian had given it to Vanessa.
Not knowing what it meant.
Elena looked at Thomas.
“Can we prove Vanessa wore it publicly?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Why?”
Elena closed the velvet box.
“Because I want everyone to see exactly what Julian gave away.”
At noon, Vanessa received a call.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Hello?”
A man's voice spoke.
“Do you still have the emerald?”
Vanessa looked around.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Who is this?”
“You don't need to know.”
“What do you want?”
“Keep wearing it.”
“Why?”
“Because Elena needs to see it.”
Vanessa frowned.
“She already knows.”
“No.”
The voice became colder.
“She needs to believe you stole it.”
Vanessa's heart raced.
“What are you talking about?”
“Just keep wearing it.”
The call ended.
Vanessa stared at the phone.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
She looked at the emerald.
Then slowly removed it.
That afternoon, Elena received a photograph.
Vanessa standing outside a luxury café.
The emerald clearly visible around her neck.
Elena stared at it.
Then another photograph arrived.
Vanessa entering a private club.
The emerald again.
Then another.
Vanessa walking into a jewelry store.
Again.
The same pendant.
Someone was documenting every appearance.
Elena's father entered the room.
“You saw them?”
“Yes.”
He looked at the photographs.
“She is being watched.”
“I know.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
He picked up the last photograph.
“Neither does Vanessa.”
Elena looked at him.
“You think she's being used?”
“Yes.”
“By Marcus?”
Her father didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
At 4:00 p.m., Vanessa received another message.
COME TO THE OLD MARINA. 9 PM. COME ALONE.
She hesitated.
Then another message appeared.
BRING THE EMERALD.
Vanessa stared at the screen.
She should have deleted it.
Instead, she went.
At 8:57 p.m., Elena's private investigator sent her a location.
Vanessa has arrived.
Elena stared at the map.
Her father stood beside her.
“Don't go.”
“I have to.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever is behind this wants that emerald.”
“And?”
Elena looked at him.
“If they only wanted the jewelry, they could have stolen it.”
She paused.
“They want Vanessa to bring it somewhere.”
Her father understood.
“A transaction.”
“Or a transfer.”
“To whom?”
Elena looked at the screen.
“I don't know.”
Then her phone rang.
Vanessa.
Elena answered.
“Hello?”
Vanessa's voice was shaking.
“Help me.”
Elena sat upright.
“Where are you?”
“The old marina.”
“Why did you go?”
“I was told to bring the emerald.”
“Who told you?”
“I don't know.”
“What happened?”
Silence.
Then Vanessa whispered:
“Someone is here.”
“Who?”
“I can't see his face.”
“Get out.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“He locked the gate.”
Elena stood.
“Stay where you are.”
“Please hurry.”
The line went dead.
Elena grabbed her coat.
Her father caught her arm.
“You're not going alone.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
At the marina, rain had begun falling.
Elena arrived with two security vehicles.
They found Vanessa's car.
The driver's door was open.
The headlights were still on.
But Vanessa was gone.
Elena looked around.
“Search everything.”
Her security team spread out.
Then someone shouted.
“Ms. Callahan!”
Elena ran toward the voice.
Vanessa was sitting on the ground beneath the pier.
She was shaking.
Blood covered one sleeve.
Elena crouched beside her.
“What happened?”
Vanessa looked up.
Her eyes were full of terror.
“He took it.”
“What?”
“The emerald.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Where is he?”
Vanessa pointed toward the water.
“He left on a boat.”
Elena looked toward the dark lake.
Then noticed something in Vanessa's hand.
A small piece of paper.
She took it.
Three words were written on it.
ASK YOUR FATHER.
Elena stared.
Her father had remained at headquarters.
Or so she thought.
She called him.
No answer.
She called again.
Still nothing.
Then her phone received a photograph.
It showed her father.
Standing beside a man Elena had never seen before.
The photograph was old.
Very old.
At least twenty years old.
And on the man's wrist was a watch Elena recognized.
Julian's.
Her stomach dropped.
She looked at Vanessa.
“Where did you get this?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“It was inside my purse.”
Elena opened the photograph again.
The man beside her father wasn't Julian.
But he had Julian's face.
Almost exactly.
Older.
Same eyes.
Same jaw.
Same scar above the eyebrow.
Elena whispered:
“Who is that?”
Vanessa looked at her.
“I don't know.”
Elena's phone rang.
This time, her father answered.
His voice was unusually quiet.
“Elena.”
“Dad.”
“Yes?”
“Who is the man in the photograph?”
Silence.
“Where are you?”
“I'm at the office.”
“Are you alone?”
Another silence.
Then he said:
“No.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
“Who is with you?”
Her father's voice changed.
“Your uncle.”
Elena froze.
“Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“Dad, get away from him.”
A pause.
Then her father whispered:
“I can't.”
The call ended.
Elena stared at the phone.
Vanessa began crying.
“What's happening?”
Elena didn't answer.
She looked toward the dark water.
The emerald was gone.
Her father was with Marcus.
And someone had deliberately placed Vanessa in the middle of it.
She finally understood.
The necklace wasn't the target.
It was the message.
Someone wanted the Callahan family to believe the war was about money.
It wasn't.
It was about control.
And whoever had taken the emerald now possessed something that could challenge the family's authority.
Elena turned toward her security team.
“Get every boat in the harbor.”
“Why?”
“Because the person who took that necklace knows exactly what it means.”
She looked back at the black water.
“And he isn't running away.”
“He's going somewhere.”
At 11:43 p.m., Julian received a message.
A photograph.
The Green Star emerald.
Beside it lay a handwritten note.
SHE STILL DOESN'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
Julian stared at the photograph.
Then another message appeared.
ASK HER ABOUT THE MAN BEFORE YOU.
His hands began to tremble.
He typed:
WHO ARE YOU?
The reply came instantly.
THE MAN WHO KNOWS WHY ELENA WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO MARRY YOU.
Julian stared at the screen.
Then the final message arrived.
AND TOMORROW, I'M GOING TO TELL HER.
Julian slowly lowered the phone.
Because for the first time, he realized that his downfall might have nothing to do with Elena's money.
Someone was coming for the secret behind their marriage.
And if that secret became public—
Elena wouldn't be the only person whose life collapsed.
Julian's would too.
But somewhere in the darkness, another person was watching.
A man holding the Green Star emerald.
A man who had known the Callahan family for decades.
A man whose face looked disturbingly familiar.
May you like
And he smiled.
Because the first piece had finally been moved.
