Chapter 1: The Half That Was Missing
My son Oliver wore the same silver locket every day for two years.
His mother Emma gave it to him the week before she passed.
Half a heart, engraved with the letter E.
She kept the other half herself.
When we buried her, I couldn't find it anywhere.
Oliver never took his half off.
Not to swim.
Not to sleep.
So when Diana reached across the table at our engagement dinner and snapped it off his neck, I didn't move fast enough to stop her.
"He's seven," she said.
"He needs to learn to let go."
Then she dropped it into the cake.
Oliver didn't cry loudly.
He just slid off his chair and knelt on the floor beside the table, staring at the frosting like he could will it back.
I was still reaching into the cake when an older woman I didn't recognize stepped through the ballroom doors.
She stopped when she saw Oliver.
Then she looked at the locket in my hand.
She crossed the room without a word, took it from me, and held it next to the chain around her own neck.
The two halves fit together perfectly.
Oliver looked up at her.
"Why do you have Mom's necklace?"
The woman's eyes filled.
"Because your mother was my daughter."
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Who is this woman, and what does she know about Emma?
Comment **"NEXT"** if you want Part 2 in the comments.
