The morning light streamed through the towering windows of the grand estate.
Margarethe smoothed the silk folds of her green dress while standing at her vanity mirror.
She adjusted a silver earring with steady, practiced fingers.
Everything in the room reflected a life of careful order and immense wealth.
She had spent thirty years building a quiet life after tragic losses took her youth away.
A young maid walked quietly into the room to gather the morning laundry.
Her name was Hannah, a quiet girl who had started working at the estate just two weeks prior.
Hannah kept her head down, wearing her plain black uniform with a white collar.
As Hannah bent down to grab a linen bag, a bright green light caught the mirror's reflection.
Margarethe froze in her chair.
Her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes locked onto the girl's neck in the glass.
A teardrop emerald pendant suspended from a fine gold chain rested against Hannah's collar.
Margarethe turned around sharply from her vanity table.
Her heart pounded violently against her ribs as she crossed the polished hardwood floor.
She placed a hand gently on the young maid's shoulder to stop her from walking away.
Margarethe: Where did you get this necklace?
Hannah flinched, her eyes widening in immediate fear.
Hannah: I didn't steal it!
Margarethe: There were only two.
Hannah: I promise you, I would never take anything from this home!
Margarethe: Then where did it come from?
Hannah: A nun gave it to me.
Margarethe stared at the glowing green stone, her fingers shaking against Hannah's shoulder.
The emerald was cut in a very specific teardrop shape with a unique gold weave.
It was a custom piece designed by her late father sixty years ago.
Margarethe: What nun?
Hannah: Sister Catherine at Saint Jude's Children's Home.
Margarethe felt the room spinning slightly beneath her feet.
She reached out to steady herself on the edge of the heavy wooden vanity.
Margarethe: Why would a nun give you an estate jewel?
Hannah: She gave it to me on my eighteenth birthday.
Hannah reached up to touch the green stone with protectiveness.
Hannah: She said my parents left it for me before they vanished.
Margarethe reached down to pick up the small velvet box on her dresser.
Her hands were so unsteady that she nearly dropped the small wooden box twice.
She popped the silver latch open with a quick press of her thumb.