The heart of the matter
Vivian leaned forward, her eyes locked onto the necklace as if seeing it for the first time. “Why this? Why now?” she asked, her voice thick with confusion and fear. I explained my theory, drawing from whispers of the past, that the necklace was more than a collection of valuable stones; it was the symbol of our family’s status, the embodiment of our legacy. If someone sought to dismantle what we had built, the necklace would be the key to undoing us.