Chapter 12
“Do it carefully.”
Priya nodded. “I’ll prepare the notice.”
Malcolm came away from the window. “Nora, I know you want answers tonight, but there’s a practical matter. The board will need to announce Julian’s leave in the morning. We also have to decide who will oversee strategy operations.”
“I’ll appoint an interim officer.”
“You have someone in mind?”
“Not yet.”
“Daniel Cho has been reviewing the company’s financial structure for six weeks,” Malcolm said. “He may know which departments are stable.”
Daniel gave a small shake of his head. “I’m not an operations executive.”
“No,” I said. “But you know where the risks are.”
Malcolm looked at me. “Then begin there.”
The suggestion was sensible, and I appreciated that he did not treat me as fragile simply because the evening had become personal.
“I’ll meet with the department heads tomorrow,” I said. “We need to separate the people who made mistakes from the people who were misled.”
Malcolm’s expression eased. “That’s exactly what they need to hear.”
After they left, I remained in the conference room with Daniel and Priya.
The earrings still lay on the table.
I reached toward them, then stopped.
“May I?” I asked.
Priya pushed them gently across the polished surface.
I lifted one between my fingers. It was lighter than I remembered. My mother had given them to me on my thirtieth birthday, telling me that beautiful things were not supposed to become anchors.
At the time, I had laughed and told her I would be happy if they simply stayed in the jewelry box.
She had looked at me for a moment longer than usual.
“Keep track of what people do with your trust,” she said. “That matters more than keeping track of the diamonds.”
I had assumed she meant marriage, friendships, business.
Perhaps she had meant all of it.
Daniel pointed to the curved platinum setting. “There’s a marking inside the clasp.”
“What kind of marking?”
“Jeweler’s code. It may help confirm where they came from and when they were purchased.”
“They were my mother’s.”
“That’s likely. But if we’re going to establish a chain of ownership, documentation matters.”
I turned the earring toward the light.
A small inscription appeared along the inner curve, almost invisible.
E.V. 14.
“Eleanor Vance,” I whispered.
Daniel looked at me. “That could be a monogram.”
“It is.”
“Was there anything else in the jewelry box?”
“Other pieces. Nothing missing that I noticed.”