“Merinda L.”

Something changed in his face.

“Miss… you need to sit down.”

My stomach dropped.

“Is it fake?”

He shook his head slowly.

“No. It’s real.”

Before I could say anything else, he grabbed a phone and dialed fast.

“I have it,” he said. “The necklace. She’s here.”

I took a step back.

“Who are you calling?”

He covered the phone and looked at me like he’d seen a ghost.

“Miss… someone has been looking for you for twenty years.”

My heart started racing.

“What are you talking about?”

Before he could answer, I heard a click behind the back door.

It opened.

And when I saw who walked in, I stopped breathing.

“Desiree…?”

She looked older, but I knew her instantly.

She used to visit my grandmother when I was a kid. Always calm. Always composed.

She looked at me like she had been waiting for this moment.

“I finally found you,” she said.

Before I could react, she pulled me into a hug.

It felt… familiar.

And completely unexpected.

“What is going on?” I asked.

She stepped back and looked at me carefully.

“You look just like her,” she said.

“My grandmother?”

Desiree nodded, then glanced at the necklace.

“That’s why I’ve been searching.”

I frowned. “Searching for what?”

“For you.”