Chapter 2: Secrets Hidden Between the Pearls
The ambulance arrived within minutes.
Doctors carefully loaded the elderly woman onto a stretcher.
She still hadn't regained consciousness.
One of the paramedics picked up the broken pearl necklace.
"It snapped during the fall."
The husband frowned.
"My mother never wore pearls around the house."
Emily slowly stood.
"They weren't hers."
Everyone turned.
"They belonged to Mrs. Vivian."
Vivian's breathing caught.
Emily pointed toward the staircase.
"I cleaned that necklace this afternoon."
The paramedic looked at the scattered pearls.
"The clasp didn't break."
He held up the necklace.
"It was pulled apart."
Silence.
The husband slowly looked at Vivian again.
"You were standing behind my mother."
"I..."
"You grabbed her."
"I didn't mean—"
Vivian immediately covered her mouth.
Too late.
The words had already escaped.
The husband's entire body went still.
"You didn't mean...?"
Vivian burst into tears.
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"It wasn't supposed to happen like this!"
The confession echoed through the mansion.
