Chapter 51

He pulled a small velvet box from the inside pocket of his suit, holding it without opening it. "It's not a ring, don't panic," he laughed once, pressing the box into my hand. "Open it and look." I opened it. It was a brooch, crafted with a white gold base and adorned with a blooming gardenia. The petals were inlaid with tiny diamonds that caught the light, sparkling with fractured brilliance. It looked exactly like the one in the pot on my windowsill back at the main estate—the one that...