“Stop!” I shouted desperately.
In that moment, Samantha’s gaze fell on the locket hanging from Michael’s neck, and her eyes glinted with mockery.
“Well, well… this little trinket looks interesting.”
It was his grandmother’s heirloom pendant. She reached for it.
“Don’t touch it!” Michael cried.
“What could a poor boy like you possibly have that’s worth anything? Probably just a cheap piece of glass from a flea market.”
Her lips curled in disdain, but her hand didn’t stop. She yanked it off his neck, the string scraping his skin red.
“Give it back!”
Michael struggled fiercely, but the others pinned him down, grinding his hands against the pavement.
Samantha dangled the pendant in front of him, smirking.
“This piece of junk? Fine, take it back—it’s filthy anyway.”
She tossed it onto the ground and wiped her hands with a tissue.
That pendant had been my late wife’s most cherished possession. Before she died, she gave it to Michael, saying she hoped it would protect him for the rest of his life.
Thankfully, the pendant hadn’t broken.
Ignoring the pain in my back, I summoned every ounce of restraint and said coldly,
“Pick it up.”
Samantha sneered.