The Necklace
1475 Words
The first thing I noticed after Devon Smith walked into the room was that he wasn't looking at the decorations.
He wasn't looking at the tables.
He wasn't looking at the guests.
He was looking at me.
And somehow, that felt worse.
I lowered my hand from my necklace and pretended to be busy with the clipboard Lucy had given me.
Maybe I was imagining it.
Maybe he wasn't actually staring.
I glanced up again.
He was.
Our eyes met.
This time, he looked away.
I frowned.
“Lisa.”
I turned.
Lucy was beside me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
She glanced toward Devon, then back at me.
“You're staring.”
“So is he.”
Her expression changed for a second.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I shook my head.
“It's just weird.”
“What is?”
“The way he's looking at me.”
Lucy glanced at him again.
“He's probably just checking whether the event is properly organised.”
I looked around.
“From my face?”
She laughed.
“Maybe you're part of the decoration.”
I smiled.
“Very funny.”
She didn't say anything else.
Instead, she reached toward my necklace.
“Lisa…”
“What?”
“Why are you wearing that today?”
I touched it.
“This?”
“Yes.”
“I always wear it.”
“I know.”
Her fingers stopped just before touching it.
Then she pulled her hand back.
“Never mind.”
I stared at her.
“What is wrong with you today?”
“Nothing.”
“You've said that about five times.”
“Because nothing is wrong.”
She smiled.
This time, it looked normal.
Before I could question her again, a man approached us.
“Miss Lucy?”
Lucy immediately straightened.
“Yes?”
“Mr Smith would like to speak with you.”
Her expression became more professional.
“Of course.”
She looked at me.
“Wait here.”
I nodded.
She followed the man across the room.
I watched them disappear behind a group of guests.
Then I looked back at Devon.
He was gone.
I frowned.
Maybe I had imagined everything.
I turned around and nearly walked into him.
“Sorry.”
His voice was deeper than I expected.
“It's fine.”
I stepped back.
He didn't.
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
Up close, he looked even more serious.
His eyes moved over my face before settling on the necklace again.
I noticed.
“Is there something wrong?”
His eyes returned to mine.
“No.”
“You keep looking at my necklace.”
A pause.
“I've seen one like it before.”
I touched the silver crescent.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he asked, “Where did you get it?”
I hesitated.
“The orphanage.”
His expression changed.
“The orphanage?”
I nodded.
“I've had it since I was a child.”
“Do you know where it came from?”
“No.”
He stared at the necklace again.
“Did they tell you anything about it?”
I shook my head.
“No. It was with me when I was brought there.”
Something flickered across his face.
Shock.
Recognition.
Maybe even fear.
I couldn't tell.
Then he looked at me again.
“You're Lisa Williams?”
I frowned.
“How do you know my name?”
Before he could answer, Lucy appeared.
“Lisa.”
She walked toward us.
Her eyes went straight to Devon.
“Mr Smith.”
He looked at her.
“Lucy.”
There was something strange about the way they said each other's names.
Not familiarity exactly.
Just... something I couldn't place.
Lucy smiled.
“Everything is ready.”
Devon nodded.
“Good.”
His eyes moved back to me.
“Lisa.”
Just my name.
But the way he said it made my stomach twist.
Then he walked away.
I looked at Lucy.
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
“He knows my name.”
She shrugged.
“You're helping me with the event. Of course he knows your name.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“He knew it before you introduced us.”
Lucy went quiet.
I watched her carefully.
“Lucy?”
“He probably saw it on the staff list.”
“I'm not staff.”
“I mean…”
She stopped.
I raised an eyebrow.
She sighed.
“Lisa, you're overthinking.”
Maybe I was.
But something about Devon didn't feel normal.
And something about the whole interaction didn't either.
---
The event lasted for hours.
I tried to forget about Devon.
I failed.
Everywhere I turned, I seemed to notice him.
Talking to guests.
Speaking quietly with his security.
Checking his phone.
Watching the room.
And occasionally...
watching me.
At one point, I caught him looking at my necklace again.
This time, I looked away first.
I didn't know what bothered me more.
The fact that he seemed to recognise something about me...
Or the fact that I desperately wanted to know what it was.
By the time we got home, I was exhausted.
Lucy kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto the couch.
“That was brutal.”
I dropped my bag beside her.
“You loved it.”
“I love getting paid.”
I laughed.
“Fair.”
She reached for the remote.
I sat beside her.
For a few minutes, the apartment was quiet.
Then I said,
“Lucy.”
“Hm?”
“Do you know Devon?”
She paused.
“Why?”
“Because you acted weird around him.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
She looked at me.
“Lisa, I've worked with important clients before.”
“Not like that.”
She sighed.
“I don't know him personally.”
I studied her face.
“Okay.”
She smiled.
“Good.”
I leaned back.
“Then why did he know my name?”
She didn't answer.
“Lucy?”
“I don't know.”
She picked up the remote.
“Can we talk about something else?”
I nodded.
But my mind wouldn't let it go.
---
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I stared at the ceiling, replaying the entire evening in my head.
Devon's eyes.
His questions.
The way he looked at my necklace.
I finally reached for it.
The silver crescent felt unusually cold against my fingers.
I turned it over.
I'd never really studied it before.
There was a tiny symbol engraved on the back.
A crescent.
And something that looked like a crown.
I frowned.
I couldn't remember seeing it before.
How had I never noticed that?
I sat up.
“Where did you come from?”
Of course, the necklace didn't answer.
I laughed quietly at myself.
Then I heard footsteps outside my bedroom.
I looked toward the door.
“Lucy?”
No answer.
I got out of bed and opened the door.
The hallway was dark.
Lucy was standing near the living-room window.
She was on the phone.
Her back was turned toward me.
I couldn't hear everything she was saying.
Only pieces.
“…she was with me.”
A pause.
Then—
“No. I don't think she knows.”
My heart skipped.
I stepped backwards before she could turn.
I quietly closed my bedroom door.
A few seconds later, I heard her footsteps pass.
I climbed back into bed.
I stared at the ceiling.
Maybe I'd heard wrong.
Maybe she was talking about the event.
Maybe it meant nothing.
But for the first time since I'd known Lucy...
I wondered if there was something she wasn't telling me.
---
Somewhere across the city, Devon Smith stood in front of an old photograph.
His uncle stood behind him.
“Tell me again,” Devon said.
The old man looked at the photograph.
“Where did you say you saw the necklace?”
Devon didn't answer immediately.
Then he said,
“On her.”
His uncle's face went pale.
“Devon…”
“I need to know who she is.”
“Leave the girl alone.”
Devon turned.
“Why?”
“Because if that necklace belongs to who I think it does…”
He stopped.
Devon waited.
His uncle looked toward the photograph.
“She should have been dead twenty years ago.”
Silence filled the room.
Devon's jaw tightened.
“She isn't dead.”
“No.”
His uncle looked at him.
“That is exactly what I'm afraid of.”
Devon stared through the window.
For the first time in twenty years, a secret everyone believed was buried...
had begun to breathe
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