Gemma. Since the day she was born, Elodie had never been able to see her as anything but the personification of Liam and Paulina’s betrayal. But now, maybe because she herself had tasted happiness—however fleeting—or maybe because she saw that Gemma could be an asset to the company, that feeling had changed. And she found herself almost cheerful about seeing her.

“Show her up, please,” Elodie said. Moments later, Gemma barreled in and slammed the door behind her.

“How could you?” she said.

“I beg your pardon?” Elodie said, confused.

“Really, I want to know how you sleep at night.” Gemma’s cheeks were pink with emotion, her Pavlin blue-green eyes watery and red-rimmed.

“Gemma, come inside and sit down. I don’t know what’s got you so upset—”

“You stole my mother’s ring from me and destroyed it! Chopping it up like scrap metal!”

Elodie stepped back, feeling behind herself for the desk to lean on. Her head buzzed with the competing frenzy of wondering how Gemma had found out the truth while trying to figure out how to calm her down.

“I can’t have a conversation with you standing there shouting at me.”

Gemma brushed past her into the next room, where she proceeded to pace in front of the settee with such vigor Elodie felt certain there would be a hole in the carpet.

“Why did you do it? Destroying something so beautiful . . .”

Elodie needed to sit. She moved to an armchair opposite the settee and wished Gemma would do the same. Instead, she insisted on standing, arms crossed, practically vibrating with fury.

“It was a business decision, Gemma. It wasn’t personal.”

“I’m sure it would have been personal to my mother. Didn’t you think about her at all?”

“The company was in a financial bind at the time. You don’t remain a family-owned business for a hundred years without some sacrifices.”

“Does Aunt Celeste know about this?”

“No,” Elodie said sharply. “And I’d like to keep it that way.”

She couldn’t imagine a quicker way to fracture the reconnection with her sister than revealing her lie about the ring. It’s not just that she’d made the unilateral decision to break up the gem in the first place, but she’d also explicitly lied about its fate to manipulate Celeste with the auction.

And really, she was trying to turn over a new leaf. The last remaining piece of the Electric Rose had been sitting in the vault, and she intended to put it to good use—a wedding gift, not a curse. Something both old and new.

“Celeste should know that you robbed my mother and me,” Gemma said.

Elodie’s shame gave way to a flood of anger—a tidal wave of anger. Decades’ worth.

“Your mother was the one who was robbed? I don’t think so,” she said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”