A heavy silence fell over the dining room. He wanted to exin, but Hannah was already eating, a mask of indifference on her face. He knew she wouldn''t listen anyway.


    He sighed, his gaze falling on her bare neck.


    "That ne I gave you not long ago," he began, trying to sound casual. "Why haven''t you worn it?"


    Hannah''s hand paused mid-air. She slowly looked up at him.


    Not long ago?


    Thest time he had given her a ne was as a bted anniversary giftst year, and only after she had mentioned it. He''d had Owen order it. That was over a year ago. How was that "not long ago"? The only recent ne was the one he''d bought for someone else.


    The thought made herugh.


    "First the fire, now a ne. Your usations get more baseless by the day," she said, meeting his gaze. “Instead of asking me why I''m not wearing a ne, maybe you should be asking why Mr. Jonesnded in Nyden today."


    She had received a text from a former colleague that morning. Mr. Jones had vanished the day before. Then, today, someone had spotted him at the Nyden airport. Unaware of the situation back home, the colleague had greeted him, but Mr. Jones had reacted as if he''d seen a ghost and hurried away.


    The news had spread like wildfire. Mr. Jones had fled.


    "Our firm never takes group outings at this time of year, so the timing was already suspicious. And Mr. Jones, who treated that office like his second home, flees to Nyden instead of helping with the arson investigation? Don''t you find that strange?"


    Hannah had lost her appetite. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and stood up, looking down at him.


    "Mr. Jones'' daughter has been studying in Nyden for years. He always talked about moving there. It seems he finally made it happen. But he''s a gambler with no savings. I wonder who funded his little trip."


    With a small, knowing smile, she turned and left.


    She had suspected Sandra''s involvement as soon as she heard the news. But the Woods family was on the brink of copse. Where would Sandra get that kind of money?


    Vet


    The answer came to her when she got to work the owner of the resale shop sent her a message. He told her everything: how Lionel hade in yesterday, how his face had turned thunderous when he saw the ne and her jewelry, how he had demanded the security footage. The owner was rted to the ma manager and had found out Lionel had specifically requested the footage from around the time she had left the store.


    Hannah: [What ne? Can you send me a picture?]


    The owner sent the photo.


    The moment she saw it, Hannah burst outughing at her desk, drawing curious looks from her coworkers.


    She took a few deep breaths, trying topose herself, but the smile wouldn''t leave her face. "Sorry, I just heard the most ridiculous story," she exined. "You know that jerk told you about? Well, his mistress solā, the ne he gave her, and he just found out."