Chapter 2 — Robert Intervenes
Robert held up a hand, signaling for both of them to pause before the argument escalated any further.
“Mom. Chloe. Stop for a second,” Robert said, his voice firm but calm as he looked between the two of them.
Beatrice crossed her arms tightly over her chest, her breathing shallow and fast.
“I am not making this up, Robert,” Beatrice said, pointing a rigid finger at the open velvet-lined box on the wooden vanity.
“I took it off right before lunch.
I placed it inside the exact center slot.”
Chloe buried her face in her hands, her shoulders heaving with fresh sobs.
“I swear I didn’t touch it,” Chloe whispered through her tears. “I just walked in to grab my sketchpad.”
Robert stepped closer to the vanity, examining the small velvet container.
“Did anyone else come into the house this afternoon?” Robert asked, turning his gaze toward his mother.
“No one,” Beatrice insisted firmly.
“The front door was locked.
The delivery man dropped the mail on the porch around noon, but nobody knocked or entered.
Chloe was the very last person to come up these stairs.”
Robert let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair.
He looked at the empty jewelry box and then back at his daughter’s tear-stained face.
The silence in the bedroom stretched thick and heavy.
Chloe wiped her knuckles across her damp cheeks and stared up at the heavy carved wooden vanity mirror.
“There’s something weird going on,” Chloe muttered, her eyes narrowing as she looked past the glass frame.