Chapter 4

The night of Kenya' s birthday party, the Welch mansion was transformed into a glittering spectacle of excess. Champagne flowed from ice sculptures, a string quartet played in the foyer, and New York' s elite mingled, draped in jewels and designer clothes.

Kenya was the center of it all, radiant in a diamond-encrusted gown, laughing on Cornell's arm.

Chloe sat in a dark corner of the ballroom, a ghost at the feast. She wore a simple black dress, the high collar hiding the still-angry burns on her neck and shoulder. She felt every stare, heard every whispered comment.

"Is that her? Cornell's wife?"

"She looks so... plain. What does he see in her?"

"I heard they're having problems. He's always with Kenya Cline. They grew up together, you know. Everyone thought they would marry."

The words were like tiny paper cuts, a slow, steady bleed of her dignity. She watched Cornell lead Kenya to the dance floor for the first dance. He held her close, whispering in her ear, making her laugh. They looked like a king and queen, perfectly matched. Chloe looked like the court jester.

Eudora Welch glided over to them, her face glowing with adoration for Kenya. She kissed Kenya on both cheeks. "You look stunning, my dear. A true Welch." Then her eyes found Chloe in the corner, and her expression soured into a familiar look of disdain.

Eudora had never approved of Chloe. She was middle-class, an artist, not from one of the founding families of New York society. Eudora made her disapproval known in a thousand small, cruel ways, from "forgetting" to set a place for Chloe at family dinners to openly mocking her "charity case" background.

Cornell, Kenya, and Eudora stood together, a perfect, happy family. Chloe was the outsider, the unwanted appendage. The pain of it was a physical weight in her chest. She couldn't breathe.

She slipped out of the ballroom and made her way to the deserted powder room, leaning against the cool marble counter, trying to regain her composure. The woman in the mirror looked pale and haunted, a stranger.

The door swung open, and Kenya waltzed in, humming to herself. She stopped when she saw Chloe.

"Oh, hiding in here, are we?" she sneered. "Don't worry. Cornell will be bored with you soon enough. His mother can't stand you. She told me she almost had a heart attack when Cornell said he was marrying a nobody from Oregon."

Chloe remembered all the times she had tried to win Eudora over. The carefully chosen gifts, the endless compliments, the biting of her tongue at every insult. It had all been for nothing. She had been playing a game she was never meant to win.

"I don't care what Eudora thinks," Chloe said, her voice tired.

"You should," Kenya said, leaning closer, her breath smelling of champagne. "Because she and I are going to make sure you end up back in whatever gutter you crawled out of."

Before Chloe could respond, a piercing scream echoed from the ballroom.

Eudora Welch.

They both ran back out. The party had come to a standstill. Eudora was standing near the fireplace, one hand to her throat, her face pale with shock.

"It's gone!" she cried. "My necklace! The Star of the Nile! It's gone!"

A wave of panic went through the crowd. The necklace was legendary, a massive sapphire surrounded by diamonds, worth millions. It was a Welch family heirloom.

Cornell immediately took charge. "Nobody leaves this room," he commanded, his voice sharp. Security guards moved to block the exits.

An uneasy feeling crept over Chloe.

Kenya's eyes lit up with a wicked idea. She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at Chloe.

"It was her!" Kenya shouted. "I saw her lurking around the fireplace earlier! She's the thief!"

All eyes turned to Chloe.

"That's ridiculous," Chloe said, her voice shaking. "I didn't steal anything."

"Of course you did," Eudora spat, her eyes filled with venom. "You've always been jealous of what we have. A little charity case with sticky fingers!"

"She's probably desperate for money to send back to her poor family in whatever backwoods town she's from," Kenya added, fanning the flames.

"Search her!" Eudora commanded. "Search the little thief!"

Chloe looked at Cornell, her eyes pleading. "Cornell, tell them. You know I wouldn't do this."

Cornell looked from his distraught mother to his furious wife. He sighed, the picture of a man caught in an impossible situation. "Chloe, just let them search you. To clear the air. Then this can all be over."

He didn't believe her. He didn't even give her the benefit of the doubt. In his eyes, she was already guilty until proven innocent. The man who once promised to stand between her and the world was now pushing her to the wolves.

"No," she said, her voice trembling with a fresh wave of betrayal.

"Patience was never his strong suit, was it?" Kenya whispered, sidling up to Chloe. "He's so tired of your drama."

"If you have nothing to hide, then what are you afraid of?" Eudora shrieked, her voice rising. "Guards! Hold her down!"

Two burly security guards grabbed Chloe's arms. She struggled, but they were too strong. They roughly patted her down, their hands invasive and humiliating. The fine fabric of her dress tore at the shoulder.

Tears of shame and rage stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She stood there, violated in front of a hundred pairs of eyes, as they proved her innocence.

"There's nothing," one of the guards said, stepping back.

Chloe lifted her chin, a small, bitter victory. "There. Are you satisfied?"

"You probably stashed it somewhere," Kenya said quickly. "What about her purse?"

Chloe' s heart stopped. Her small evening bag was sitting on the table where she had left it. Kenya, when she had come over to taunt her, had brushed against the table. Her hand had lingered near the purse for just a second.

Chloe knew, with a sickening certainty, what they would find.

One of the guards picked up the bag. He opened the clasp and turned it upside down.

The Star of the Nile, its massive sapphire glittering malevolently under the chandelier lights, rolled out onto the floor.

A collective gasp went through the room.

The game was over. Checkmate.