“Again, the only thing I want is my mother’s ring.”

Elodie’s face turned red. “It was never her ring. It belongs to Pavlin & Co.”

“Alan Pavlin gave it to my mother as an engagement gift,” Gemma said.

“That was a loan—for publicity,” said Elodie. “Tell her, Celeste.”

Celeste put up her hands. “I don’t want any part of this.”

The server appeared with plates of fluffy pancakes and perfectly crisped bacon. Gemma’s stomach rumbled, but she made no move to eat. Again, she was brought back to the last time she saw her mother’s ring, resting on a tray on her grandmother’s nightstand. It will be yours someday. It’s what your mother wanted.

“It’s the ring or no signature,” Gemma said.

“So you’d rather walk away with nothing?” Elodie said. “I don’t believe you.”

“I’ve done fine with nothing the past fifteen years,” Gemma said.

Elodie stood abruptly, nearly knocking over her chair. It bumped back against the restaurant’s front window frame.

“Celeste, you know where to find me when the moon is out of Venus or whatever you’re waiting for. And, Gemma, I expect to hear from you, too, when you realize this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you’re squandering.”

She pulled her orange Hermès handbag into the crook of her arm and stormed out. Gemma exhaled. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding her breath. She glanced at Celeste, who picked up her knife and fork and cut a bite off her pancakes.

“Please,” she said, “eat.”

Gemma bit into her bacon and sipped her coffee. It was strong. They ate in silence, her mind racing. Was she being foolish? Should she take the money and run? She wished she had a mother to talk to. Anyone to talk to.

“Gemma, this might not be what you want to hear, but I wish you’d forget about the Electric Rose.”

She looked at her aunt, feeling stricken. Was she taking Elodie’s side on this?

“Why?”

“It’s bad luck. It’s cursed. I don’t know where it is, and I don’t want to know. Please, for your own sake, forget about it.”

“Aunt Celeste, you don’t really believe that, do you?”

Celeste nodded vigorously. “I do. The first time I saw an article that suggested the curse, I knew in my bones it was true. And if you’d seen how drastically things fell apart once that diamond came into the family, you’d believe it, too.”

Gemma didn’t know about that. She’d stumbled upon a few mentions of the curse online but didn’t give it any more credence than she did stories of haunted houses.

“And I overheard some of your argument in the store,” Celeste said slowly. “The part about our family pretending that you don’t exist. I feel terrible. I’m sorry. I should have reached out.”