“Merinda L.”
Something changed in his face.
“Miss… you need to sit down.”
My stomach dropped.
“Is it fake?”
He shook his head slowly.
“No. It’s real.”
Before I could say anything else, he grabbed a phone and dialed fast.
“I have it,” he said. “The necklace. She’s here.”
I took a step back.
“Who are you calling?”
He covered the phone and looked at me like he’d seen a ghost.
“Miss… someone has been looking for you for twenty years.”
My heart started racing.
“What are you talking about?”
Before he could answer, I heard a click behind the back door.
It opened.
And when I saw who walked in, I stopped breathing.
“Desiree…?”
She looked older, but I knew her instantly.
She used to visit my grandmother when I was a kid. Always calm. Always composed.
She looked at me like she had been waiting for this moment.
“I finally found you,” she said.
Before I could react, she pulled me into a hug.
It felt… familiar.
And completely unexpected.
