Chapter 2: The Pendant He Had Never Forgotten
Julian didn't move.
Didn't speak.
He just stared at Victoria.
And Victoria stared at the maid.
The maid — who had kept her eyes down since the moment Julian walked in — slowly raised her face.
Her hands were still trembling.
But her eyes were steady.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"I didn't mean to cause trouble.
I'll go."
She gently tried to loosen Leo's arms from her waist.
Leo wouldn't let go.
"No," he said.
One word.
Firm.
Final.
Julian crouched down to his son's level.
"Leo." His voice was low.
Careful.
"Where did you hear that song?"
Leo looked at him with those wide, serious eyes.
"She sings it every night.
The same one.
The one that makes the sad feeling go away."
Julian's chest tightened.
He stood up slowly and turned to the maid.
"What is your name?"
She hesitated — just half a second too long.
"Clara," she said.
Victoria made a sharp sound.
Almost a laugh.
Almost a cry.
"Julian, don't.
She's nobody.
She found out about the song somehow and used it to get close to the boys.
That's all this is."
But Julian had already noticed something.
Around the maid's neck — half hidden beneath her collar — was a small silver pendant.
A shape he recognized.
One he had chosen himself.
May you like
Twenty-nine years ago.
For a woman he had never stopped grieving.
