Chapter 2 - THE DESIGN HER FATHER NEVER SOLD.
Claire insisted the bracelet proved nothing because dozens of customers owned the same design.
Maya pointed to the initials engraved inside the clasp.
“Yours was custom-made.”
David requested security remain at the doors while customers watched the footage again. Claire had approached Maya’s backpack, but another person stood just outside the camera frame and handed her the replica.
Claire finally admitted someone had instructed her to expose Maya as a thief.
“My mother said this girl was targeting the store.”
Maya’s expression hardened.
“You never asked who I was. You only asked whether my clothes made the accusation believable.”
The replica came from a program where low-income apprentices practiced stone setting before Bellamy sold their designs under luxury labels. The apprentices received hourly wages but no royalties.
Maya’s late father, Rafael Torres, had created the teardrop setting twenty years earlier.
Claire laughed nervously.
“He repaired jewelry. He did not design collections.”
David opened an archived catalog.
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The original drawing carried Rafael’s signature—and a handwritten note:
IF MY DAUGHTER RETURNS, DO NOT LET THE BELLAMYS SEARCH HER BAG.
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