Chapter 2
She snapped her fingers. One of the men pulled out a gun.
My blood ran cold.
“Hand over the master keys and the location of the diamond,” Victoria demanded, staring straight at me. “Or I’ll make sure your baby never gets to see its first sunrise.”
The locket in my hand suddenly felt heavier than the entire world.
I looked at Hawthorne, then back at Victoria, and felt something primal rise within me — the same fire that had built this empire.
“You made one mistake,” I said, my voice steady despite the fear. “You came after my family.”
The vault felt smaller the moment Victoria’s men stepped inside. The air grew thick with tension, the scent of polished metal and old secrets mixing with the faint metallic click of the gun being cocked.
My hand instinctively moved to my belly as another contraction rippled through me. Not now, I thought. Not yet.
Victoria’s smile was sharp and cruel. “You look surprised, Sarah. Did you really think a spoiled little heiress playing poor could keep the Eternal Flame forever? Your grandfather was a fool for hiding it instead of using its power.”
Hawthorne stood tall beside me, but I could see the age in his shoulders. He wouldn’t be able to protect me if this turned violent.
I lifted my chin and met Victoria’s cold blue eyes. “You’re right about one thing,” I said, my voice calm despite the fear clawing at my throat. “I was playing poor. But not because I had to. Because I wanted to know what it felt like to be treated like a normal person. Turns out, people like you and Marcus make that very easy.”
One of the armed men stepped closer. Victoria laughed softly. “Hand over the master ledger and tell me where the diamond is. Do it now, and maybe I’ll let you walk out of here alive.”
I glanced at the silver locket still clutched in my hand — my grandmother’s locket. The one I had come for today. Slowly, I opened it, revealing the tiny photo of my parents. But there was something else inside I had noticed only minutes earlier in the showroom light: a small, almost invisible engraving on the inner frame.
A sequence of numbers.
My heart raced. Grandfather had always loved riddles.
“You want the Eternal Flame?” I said, closing the locket. “It’s been right here the whole time.”
I walked toward the massive oak desk, ignoring the guns pointed at me. Hawthorne tried to stop me, but I gently pushed his hand away. With trembling fingers, I pressed the sequence of numbers into a hidden panel on the side of the desk that I had only just realized existed.
A soft mechanical whir filled the room. A hidden compartment in the floor slid open, revealing a velvet-lined box. Inside it rested the most breathtaking diamond I had ever seen — the Eternal Flame. Even in the dim light, it burned with an inner fire, deep crimson and gold swirling at its core.
Victoria’s eyes widened with greed. “Give it to me.”
“No,” I replied.
Before she could react, I slammed my hand down on the emergency alarm hidden beneath the desk. A piercing siren exploded through the building. Red emergency lights flooded the vault.
Chaos erupted.
Victoria lunged for the diamond, but Hawthorne was faster. He shoved her back as the two armed men turned toward the sound of approaching footsteps. The new security team — the real one loyal to the Everly family — burst into the vault.
Gunshots rang out. I dropped to the floor, shielding my belly as Hawthorne pulled me behind the desk. The fight was short but brutal. Within seconds, Victoria and her men were on their knees, disarmed and surrounded.
I stood up slowly, breathing hard, and walked over to Victoria. She glared up at me with pure hatred.
“You think this is over?” she spat. “You’re just a pregnant girl who got lucky.”
I knelt down so we were eye level. “No. I’m the owner of Everly & Sons. And starting tonight, this company is going to change. We will no longer serve only the arrogant and the cruel. Every store will have a policy: treat every customer with respect — because you never know who they might become.”
I looked at Hawthorne. “Call the police. And make sure the press gets the full story — including Victoria’s embezzlement and her attempt to murder the rightful heir.”
As the authorities arrived and dragged Victoria away, I finally allowed myself to sit. The contractions were getting stronger. Hawthorne looked at me with concern.
“Sarah… the baby?”
I smiled through the pain. “She’s coming soon. And she’s going to grow up knowing that strength isn’t in diamonds or money. It’s in standing up when the world tries to knock you down.”
