Chapter 2: The Forgotten Child
Chapter 2: The Forgotten Child
The ballroom emptied as Richard led Olivia and Martha into the library.
No reporters.
No guests.
Only questions.
Martha opened an old cedar box she had kept for decades.
Inside were faded photographs.
One picture showed a smiling five-year-old girl wearing the exact same pendant.
Emma Hayes.
Richard's younger sister.
She had disappeared during a crowded charity festival twenty-four years earlier.
Despite years of searching, she was never found.
The family believed she had died.
Martha wiped away a tear.
"I recognized the engraving."
She turned the pendant over.
Tiny letters caught the light.
May you like
Forever Brave — E.H.
The same inscription appeared in the photograph.
