Kane
The lace shawl slid from Ella’s shoulders like a falling whisper.
For one breathless heartbeat, the world froze.
Time stretched thin.
I almost jumped into the rescue. But then, seeing the spark in her eyes, I knew she would bring hell upon everyone.
Then the necklace emerged from behind the delicate folds of fabric.
It wasn’t loud.
It wasn’t flamboyant.
It wasn’t flashy.
It was… absolute.
A single strand of flawless, deep-blue stones caught by a frame of frost-white diamonds not arranged for excess, but for authority.
The center held a teardrop sapphire the size of a heartbeat, its surface so clear it seemed cut from frozen sky. Around it, micro-embedded diamonds shimmered like stardust trapped in ice.
A low, involuntary gasp ripped through the guests.
Not because it w
