Chapter 1 — The Accusation in the Kitchen
The kitchen was filled with quiet devastation.
Evelyn stood over the stainless steel sink and pointed an accusing finger straight at young Charlotte.
Tears streamed down Charlotte’s face as she sobbed uncontrollably, desperately denying that she had anything to do with it.
“You took it! I know you did!” Evelyn cried out, her voice breaking with raw grief.
“It’s the only thing I have left from him!”
Charlotte wept harder, shaking her head as the faucet continued running water directly down into the stainless steel drain below.
“I didn’t take it, Grandma! I swear I didn’t!” Charlotte gasped through her tears.
The tension in the room was unbearable.
Charlotte pointed frantically toward the running kitchen sink as water rushed down the metal drain.
She motioned frantically at the drain basket, trying to make Evelyn understand why she was standing so close to the basin.
Harrison stepped through the doorway at that exact second, his eyes darting between his weeping daughter and his frantic mother.