Alannah’s fingers tightened around the pendant as she forced her voice to stay steady.
“This necklace… was my mother’s. This is all I have left of her.”
When she’d arrived at the hospital that day, her mother’s cold fingers had been clutching that same opal pendant. It had been passed down through the family for generations, its meaning immeasurable.
Alannah absolutely couldn’t give it away.
At her refusal, Quincy’s brows drew together.
“You’d better think carefully before you speak…”
The threat in his eyes was unmistakable.
Alannah thought of the car ride earlier, of his words about her mother’s ashes.
In the end, she reluctantly unclasped the necklace with trembling hands and placed it in Pearl’s palm.
Pearl’s eyes shimmered with satisfaction as she turned to him, faking a sweet smile.
“Oh, Quincy, you really are too good to me!”
Watching Pearl put on Alannah’s late mother’s keepsake in front of everyone, Alannah’s hands curled into fists without her realizing it, her nails digging deep into her palms.
“Thank you all for your blessings. Let’s play the video greetings now,” Pearl announced sweetly, her smile dazzling under the lights.