Chapter 1 - The Shattered Roses
“These flowers are worth more than your entire family.”
The woman in emerald knocked the basket from the little girl’s hands.
White roses scattered across the marble.
The girl flinched.
She didn’t cry.
She only touched the small silver crescent hanging from her neck.
From the balcony above, an older woman suddenly froze.
“That necklace…”
She rushed down the staircase.
Guests moved aside as she hurried toward the child.
The woman in emerald frowned.
“What is this?”
The older woman ignored her.
She dropped to her knees beside the girl and gently lifted the crescent pendant.
“Where did you get this?”
The girl wiped her cheek.
“My mother.”
The older woman’s hands began shaking.
“She said it belonged to my grandmother.”
The woman covered her mouth.
“I made this for my daughter.”
The girl’s eyes widened.
“Then… are you my grandma?”
The older woman looked into her face.
The same eyes.
The same small dimple.
She pulled the child into her arms.
“I think I am.”
The ballroom went silent.
Then the girl whispered, “My mom said you didn’t want us.”
The older woman slowly pulled back.
“What?”
“She said she came here once.”
The older woman’s face changed.
“When?”
The girl pointed toward the woman in emerald.
“Mom said that lady was the one who sent her away.”
Eleanor turned her furious gaze toward Victoria.
Victoria’s face drained of color as the guests began to murmur.
“Eleanor, the child is clearly lying,” Victoria stammered.
“My daughter has been missing for six years,” Eleanor said with a dangerously low voice.
“I told you she died in that car accident,” Victoria insisted.
The little girl shook her head vigorously.
“My mommy isn't dead.”
Eleanor grabbed Victoria by the wrist.
“Where is my daughter, Victoria?”
Victoria yanked her arm away and signaled to the mansion’s security guards.
“Get this filthy street rat out of my house!” Victoria screamed.
Two massive guards rushed forward and grabbed the little girl by her shoulders.
The girl screamed in terror as they dragged her toward the heavy mahogany doors.
“Let her go!” Eleanor shouted, but a third guard blocked her path.
The little girl dug her heels into the floor and yelled out a desperate secret.
“My mommy is waiting for me by the fountain in the garden!”
Eleanor pushed past the guard with a sudden surge of adrenaline.
She sprinted through the grand doors and out into the freezing night air.
She reached the grand marble fountain, desperate to finally see her daughter's face.
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But there was no one standing by the water.
There was only a single white rose resting next to a massive, fresh pool of blood.
