"Don't Wear This Cheap Trash!" She Shrieked, Tearing Her Necklace... Until He Recognized the Secret Seal
PART 2: The Seal That Shouldn't Exist
The ballroom fell into absolute silence.
The elderly gentleman pushed through the stunned guests without saying a word. Every executive, senator, and socialite instinctively stepped aside.
Everyone knew who he was.
Richard Ashcroft.
Founder of the Ashcroft Foundation.
One of the richest men in America.
He slowly bent down and picked up the tiny golden seal lying on the marble floor.
His hands trembled.
"This..."
"...can't be."
Evelyn laughed dismissively.
"It's just junk from a flea market."
Richard ignored her.
Instead, he carefully turned the seal over.
On the back was an engraving almost impossible to notice.
An oak tree.
Three stars.
And the Latin words:
Veritas Ante Divitias.
Truth Before Wealth.
Richard's eyes instantly filled with tears.
Only three of these seals had ever existed.
One belonged to him.
One had been buried with his late wife.
The third...
Had disappeared with his son and infant granddaughter twenty-three years earlier after a devastating yacht fire everyone believed had claimed their lives.
He slowly looked at the young woman.
"What is your name?"
"...Emma."
"Who gave you this necklace?"
"My mother."
"She told me never to sell it..."
"...even if we had nothing left to eat."
Richard stopped breathing.
His son had once spoken those exact words before leaving home.
Evelyn suddenly interrupted.
"This is ridiculous."
"She's obviously trying to scam you."
Richard stood.
His voice became ice.
"Twenty-three years ago..."
"My granddaughter vanished."
"And the only proof she existed..."
"...was this seal."
The guests gasped.
Evelyn's smile disappeared.
For the first time that evening...
She looked afraid.
Then an elegant woman near the stage whispered something that froze Richard's blood.
"Sir..."
"If she's really your granddaughter..."
May you like
"...someone spent twenty-three years making sure she never found you."
To Be Continued in Part 3...
