Chapter 6

When Rosalie didn't respond, Nathaniel changed the subject.

He took an elegant mahogany box from his briefcase and opened it.

Inside lay a matching emerald necklace, bracelet, and pair of earrings. The stones were unusually clear, their deep green color almost luminous.

"You once told me you'd been looking for your mother's jewelry, the pieces your stepmother sold."

He held the box out to her. His usually reserved voice held a trace of warmth.

"I asked around. It took nearly a year, but I finally tracked down the entire set at an auction house overseas. I managed to get it all back."

Rosalie finally looked at the jewelry.

She recognized the emeralds at once. Her mother, Jacqueline Hansen, had treasured them. Seeing them again stirred emotions Rosalie could barely contain.

She took a steadying breath and accepted the box, her fingertips cold.

"I'll take them. But don't expect me to thank you. I've got quite a gift for you, too."

Nathaniel frowned. Before he could ask what she meant, one of his guards knocked and stepped inside. The man leaned in and whispered something in Nathaniel's ear.

Nathaniel's expression turned serious. He stood.

"Rosie, I've got some urgent military business to take care of. I have to go. I've arranged for a nurse's aide to look after you. Get some rest."

Rosalie watched him hurry out. She knew exactly where he was going.

Urgent military business? What a joke.

He was just going next door to look after his poor, helpless sweetheart.

In the days that followed, Rosalie quietly recovered from her injuries.

The nurses wheeled her out for tests more times than she could count. Whenever they passed Evelyn's room, she caught glimpses of Nathaniel through the half-open door.

He was always at Evelyn's bedside, helping her drink water, peeling apples for her, or speaking to her in a soothing voice. He was so gentle and attentive that Rosalie barely recognized him.

Each time, Rosalie simply looked away without a word.

Soon, he wouldn't be her husband anymore. Who he chose to care for was no longer her concern.

One day, Rosalie returned from a round of tests to find her hospital room in disarray. Someone had rummaged through her drawers and cabinets, leaving everything in a mess.

Her stomach dropped. She hurried to the bedside table and pulled open the drawer.

The mahogany box was gone.

Rosalie caught a passing nurse by the arm. "Who was in my room? Where's my stuff?"

The nurse flinched. "M-Ms. Cohen was here earlier. She said she was your friend and had come to pick up a few things..."

Evelyn!

Rosalie's expression hardened. She released the nurse and stormed straight to Evelyn's room.

Evelyn was sitting up in bed. She didn't look the least bit surprised when Rosalie burst in.

Rosalie marched up to her bed. "Give me back my things!"

Evelyn closed her book at her leisure.

"Relax. I don't want your emeralds. I just needed an excuse to get you here. You're Nelmora's golden girl, Rosalie. You're rich, you do whatever you please, and you've got more men chasing after you than you can count.

"You can have practically anything you want. So why Nathaniel? Of all the men in the world, why did you have to take him from me?"

There was genuine confusion beneath the bitterness in her voice.

"I've already told you the truth. You know Nathaniel doesn't love you. He only married you to get the drug I need! So why did you still seduce him at the dance hall?

"Was it just to rub it in my face? To show me you can have any man you want? To prove you could make even someone as disciplined as Nathaniel lose his self-control over you?"

Rosalie listened to Evelyn's outburst, her chest aching so badly she could barely breathe. The sheer nerve of her left Rosalie speechless.

Nathaniel had only lost control at the dance hall because he'd been desperate to get Evelyn the drug she needed sooner. And now Evelyn had the nerve to blame Rosalie for what he'd done?

There was no point trying to reason with her.

"Give me back my things," Rosalie said.

Evelyn stared at her. Then, without warning, she spoke in an eerily quiet voice.

"I left them in the morgue. They belonged to a dead woman, didn't they? I thought it was only fitting to put them on a corpse."

"You did what?"

Rosalie was so furious she wanted to claw Evelyn's face off.

But she restrained herself and headed straight for the morgue. Getting Jacqueline's jewelry back mattered more.

The morgue was in the hospital basement, dim and freezing cold. The air reeked of formaldehyde and decay.

Rosalie had been afraid of the dark and places like this since childhood. Just being there made her skin crawl.

Even so, she gritted her teeth and began pulling open the cold metal drawers, one by one. Finally, she found the familiar mahogany box in a drawer near the corner.

Relief flooded through her. She clutched the box to her chest, as though holding it could somehow give her a little of her mother's strength.

Just as she turned to leave, a loud metallic clang rang out. Someone had locked the morgue door from the outside.

"Evelyn! Open the door!"

Rosalie rushed to the door and pounded on it, shouting until her voice grew hoarse.

Evelyn's mocking voice came from the other side. "Why don't you stay there and keep the dead company, Ms. Quinn?"

Then her footsteps faded down the hall.

"Let me out! Open the door!"

Rosalie hammered on the door, screaming for help. But no one came. Her cries echoed through the freezing morgue, unanswered.

Already weak from her injuries, she soon began to lose what little strength she had left. The cold and mounting panic only made things worse.

Eventually, her legs gave way. She slid down the metal door and crumpled to the floor. Her vision dimmed, and she lost consciousness.

Rosalie had no idea how long she'd been unconscious when she finally came to. Muffled voices drifted through the door.