Chapter 2
The exhibition closed early.
Guests were told there had been a security issue.
No accusation was announced.
Isabella wanted the facts preserved before family gossip turned them into something else.
Sophie went home with Isabella’s longtime house manager and two bodyguards she knew well.
Claire remained at the gallery.
So did Diane and Preston, although separately.
Isabella called her attorney, Rachel Sloan, and the exhibition’s insurer.
Rachel’s first instruction was simple.
“Don’t interrogate anyone.”
“They framed my daughter.”
“And you struck both of them.”
“Preston swung first.”
“Witnesses can establish that.”
Rachel paused.
“The slap is different.”
Isabella knew.
Diane had been pulling Sophie.
Isabella had already broken her grip before striking her.
“I’ll give a complete statement.”
“Good.”
Isabella had spent years watching men in her family redefine violence whenever it benefited them.
She would not do the same because she was angry.
Claire began checking inventory.
The Caradonna gemstone collection was not merely decorative.
Some pieces belonged to Isabella personally.
Others belonged to a family holding company.
Several were consignments from private collectors attending the exhibition.
Every movement required documentation.
Claire returned twenty minutes later.
“The displayed inventory is intact.”
Isabella frowned.
“So nothing was stolen.”
“Nothing from the cases.”
“Then why bring a replica?”
Claire looked toward the service corridor.
“That’s what bothers me.”
The exhibit had strict entry screening.
A fake that sophisticated could not easily be mistaken for an existing display item.
Someone had brought it for a reason.
Preston’s attorney arrived first.
Diane refused to answer questions until hers came.
That was their right.
Isabella let them leave once names, statements, and security procedures had been documented.
Before Diane entered the elevator, she looked back.
“You’re destroying this family over something a child said.”
Isabella held her gaze.
“No.”
She glanced toward the replica on Claire’s velvet tray.
“I’m finding out why an adult needed my child to say it.”
After the doors closed, Claire quietly asked Isabella to follow her.
At the rear of the gallery stood six foam-lined transport boxes prepared for the next morning.
One seal had been cut.
May you like
Nothing inside was missing.
But someone had opened it.
