The Stolen Emerald Bracelet

Damon paused for a brief beat before giving a curt nod. Fine—handing it over would serve Evelyn right. If she insisted on throwing this stubborn tantrum, she needed to learn that everything belonging to her could easily be passed along to someone else. Turning toward the hallway, he ordered a housemaid to fetch the emerald bracelet from upstairs.

The moment the jewelry box was brought down, Camilla snatched the piece up and slid it straight onto her wrist. Half a second later, catching how greedy her haste must have looked, she dipped her chin to compose her features. By the time she lifted her gaze again, a sheen of tears glimmered in her eyes.

Raising her slender arm toward Damon, she spoke through a thick, emotional tremor. "It fits wonderfully, Damon. Thank you so much for letting me keep it, and for making my wish come true."

Beside her, Lucas polished off the last sticky bite of his cotton candy. Staring earnestly up at Camilla's misty expression, the boy blurted out, "Camilla, I really wish you were my mommy. Then every single bracelet in her room would belong to you, and all her necklaces too. She leaves them sitting around and never puts them on anyway."

Standing just a few paces off, Martha felt a heavy pang of sympathy for Evelyn. Ever since the day Lucas came into the world, Evelyn had packed all her fine jewelry away so sharp clasps and stones wouldn't get in the way of tending to a young child.

Once so vibrant and impeccably styled, Evelyn had traded everything glamorous for plain, practical outfits at home. Yet nobody under this roof ever noticed what she had set aside—least of all the little boy she had done it for.

Letting out a silent breath, Martha turned away and resumed her chores without uttering a syllable. For the very first time, it made complete sense why Evelyn was so dead set against setting foot back in this house.

Camilla's eyes sparked with secret triumph at the boy's devotion, though she masked it right away behind a mild, chiding frown as she smoothed Lucas's hair. "Lucas, don't talk like that. Hearing something so harsh would break your mother's heart. Regardless of all the things she gets wrong, she is still the woman who brought you into this world. Nothing can ever erase that fact, okay?"

Her earnest lecture was carefully angled to highlight Evelyn's supposed faults, and the bait worked like a charm.

Lucas puffed his cheeks out, bristling with childish fury. "I hate having such a mean mom! Yesterday I nearly died, and she didn't care one bit. Camilla, I want you to be my mom instead!"

Camilla parted her lips to lean in further, only for Damon to cut across her first. Casting a cool, measured look her way, he remarked, "Kids blurt out whatever crosses their minds in the heat of the moment. Don't read anything into it."

Swallowing back whatever reply she had prepared, Camilla recovered without missing a beat and offered an agreeable, serene smile. "Of course. There's no rush—Lucas will figure things out as he gets older."

Shifting gears, she let her tone turn light and coaxing. "Didn't you mention your schedule was clear today? Why don't the two of us take Lucas out to do a little shopping? How does that sound?"

Instantly, Lucas lit up and hopped in place on the rug. "Daddy, please! Let's go out shopping with Camilla!"

Damon studied his son with lingering concern over yesterday's scare, yet faced with that bright, pleading stare, he eventually relented with a quiet nod.

*****

Across town at her family estate, Evelyn woke from a deep, uninterrupted night of rest feeling genuinely clearheaded. Right after she finished a leisurely breakfast alongside her parents, her cell rang with an upbeat call from her closest friend, Nadia Walsh, asking if she wanted to hit the shops together. Hearing Nadia's lively chatter stirred up a flood of memories from another lifetime.

Back in her previous life, from the day Camilla reentered the picture, Evelyn's entire existence had shrunk down to just Damon and Lucas. Every waking hour had followed the exact same exhausting loop: waiting on the two of them hand and foot, scrambling to prove she hadn't wronged Camilla, or pleading with her husband and son simply to come home for dinner.

Looking back now, surviving three straight years of that sheer insanity felt unreal. She couldn't have been more grateful to get a fresh start and reclaim her life. Without hesitating for a second, Evelyn told Nadia to count her in.

The two women spent hours browsing boutiques, and by midafternoon, weighed down with shopping bags, they ducked into an upscale café to rest their feet. Barely had they settled into their booth when an unmistakable, boastful voice drifted over from a neighboring table.

"Oh, this emerald piece? Damon insisted I have it." Camilla was practically glowing with smug satisfaction as she angled her wrist toward her companions.

"Hold on—isn't that the exact bracelet Evelyn wore down the aisle?" one woman gasped loudly. "Everyone knows that thing is worth an absolute fortune, and he handed it straight over to you? Seriously, does he still carry a torch for you?"

Putting on a show of flustered modesty, Camilla waved a hand in mock protest. "Please, don't say things like that! What would people think of me if that got around? Damon simply mentioned how much we both regretted missing our shot years ago, especially since his grandfather forced his hand into marrying Evelyn. Letting me wear this is just his quiet way of making up for those lost years, nothing beyond that. Keep your voices down—gossip like that would cause such a mess."

Naturally, her disclaimer only egged the group on louder. "Oh, come off it, Camilla, why tiptoe around the truth? Everybody knows Evelyn wedged herself right between the two of you and tore you apart! Besides, a man doesn't part with jewelry that priceless unless his heart is still yours. That bracelet was clearly meant as a token of true love all along—it belongs on your wrist anyway, because Evelyn wasn't worthy of wearing it for a single day!"

As the spiteful chatter carried across the seating area, Evelyn turned her head and locked her gaze straight onto the green stones resting against Camilla's skin. Her eyebrows pulled sharply together; even knowing how low Damon could sink, she hadn't expected him to have the gall to hand that specific piece away.

Curling her fingers tight at her sides, Evelyn rose from her chair and strode right up to the group. Looking directly down at Camilla, she spoke in a crisp, cutting voice. "Ms. Mercer, that bracelet was passed down to me by my grandmother. Take it off and hand it back right now, or my next move is dialing the police."

Stepping up right behind her, Nadia projected her voice so every table in the room caught each word. "That emerald belongs exclusively to Evelyn! Years ago, her grandfather dropped well over a hundred million at auction to buy it for her grandmother, who gifted it to Evelyn on her wedding day. What gives you the nerve to parade around in it? Are things really that tight financially for you, Camilla?"

"Wait, seriously?" a patron at an adjacent table piped up after catching the whole exchange. "Here we thought Mr. Voss bought that for her himself. Keeping someone else's family heirloom is crossing a major line, Camilla."

Critical murmurs rippled quickly from booth to booth, drawing dozens of judgmental stares. Cornered by the sudden public scrutiny, Camilla scrambled to shift the heat off herself. "Damon put it in my hands himself! Beyond that, I don't know a thing about where it came from."

That flimsy excuse walked straight into Evelyn's trap, drawing a sharp, humorless laugh from her lips. "Funny how Damon never stops lecturing me about keeping strict boundaries between what's mine and what's his. This bracelet is my private property, and taking it behind my back makes it plain theft. Are you telling everyone in here that Damon Voss has stooped to stealing jewelry just to play generous?"

Right as her final syllable cut through the quiet café, the front glass door swung inward, and Damon stepped across the threshold holding Lucas's hand—catching every word loud and clear.