"Take it off," she ordered, her voice as cold as ice.
I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"The necklace," Ginger repeated, her finger pointing at it. "And the rest of the jewelry. You’re a thief, Tracie. You don’t deserve to wear them."
I clenched my jaw in defiance. "These are mine."
Ginger let out a laugh, as if the idea were absurd. "Yours? Don’t make me laugh. I’ll hold onto them until the real Lady Whitaker shows up. Let’s see how long you can keep pretending."
"Ginger," Daniel said hesitantly, but she shot him a glare, silencing him instantly.
She turned back to me with a sharp look. "Just because your last name is Whitaker doesn’t mean you’re part of the family. I’ve known you since college, Tracie. The Whitaker family doesn’t even have a daughter. Stop pretending."
I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to argue. Of course, they didn’t know the truth about my family—my parents had never spoken of me publicly. It was a choice I made to protect myself, but now, seeing everything unfold, it felt like the time to reveal who I truly was.
Ginger glanced at Daniel. "We should take the jewelry and return it to Lady Whitaker. Maybe she’ll reconsider the partnership."