Page 120 of What Goes Around

Apple shook her head helplessly, tears streaking her makeup. “I do not know. I cannot remember. I feel terrible. Grandma said it has been in the family for four generations. I should not have accepted it. I am so stupid.”

I watched her from a few steps away, my expression carefully neutral.

A week earlier, on my birthday, Marissa’s mother had given us gifts. To me, she had handed a simple pair of pearl earrings and used the word heirloom.

I had known better. She had probably pulled them from a jewelry box that morning. After all, I was not really her granddaughter.

I’d smiled. Thanked her. Said nothing.

To Apple, she’d presented that antique green bracelet, calling it a family heirloom too. I remembered the moment clearly, the flicker that crossed Apple’s face when she opened the box. The brief tightening of her mouth. The flash of disdain she hadn’t managed to hide quickly enough before she caught herself.

Then the performance had begun.

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” she’d said. “It means so much to our family. I absolutely love it. I’ll cherish it forever.”

Forever had lasted exactly one week.

My father sighed now, rubbing his temple. “It’s just a bracelet. If we can’t find it, then we can’t.”

But Apple didn’t stop.

“But it’s from Grandma,” she sobbed. “She’s never given me anything like that before. It meant so much.”

People exchanged glances. The discomfort in the room thickened.

Apple’s eyes flicked through the crowd.

I followed her gaze.

A waiter moved. He drifted toward us carrying a tray of empty glasses, eyes fixed just past my shoulder.

I shifted instinctively, stepping aside.

He collided with Amy instead.

Her bag slipped from her arm and hit the floor, spilling open.

Something silver caught the light.

“There!” one of Apple’s friends shrieked, already pointing. “That’s it! The bracelet!”

Amy froze.

“What?” she said, stunned. “What are you talking about?”

The girl rushed forward, snatched the item from the floor, and held it up triumphantly.

“See? I knew it. It’s right here! Looks like we found the thief.”

A ripple moved through the surrounding guests. Sharp inhales, murmurs, the unmistakable thrill of scandal.

My jaw tightened.

I’d been careful. Deliberately so. I had brought a small clutch tonight, sleek and structured, barely large enough for my phone and lipstick. Impossible to slip anything into unnoticed.

Which meant Apple hadn’t aimed for me this time.

She’d aimed for Amy.