Chapter 3

The next afternoon, I went to Claire's welcome-home party. The Ashton family was old friends with my parents, so I couldn't say no.

Champagne and flowers filled the ballroom.

Claire stood in the middle of the room in a white gown. Arthur, Noah, and Theo were all there.

The lights dimmed, and a huge projection screen came to life. It showed a welcome video the family had made just for Claire.

The first half showed photos of Claire as a child. Then the images suddenly changed.

The snowy mountains of Switzerland, the Greek coast, a little town in the south of France, and the first time we snuck a boat out to sea.

I should have been standing right there beside them in every shot. Instead, I was gone.

At the end, a single line appeared on the screen.

"We may have missed out on your past, but we won't miss another moment of your future."

Claire stood onstage, and her eyes quickly went red. "Thank you all. I've always wished I'd gotten to know you sooner."

Applause broke out all around.

I stood at the very back of the crowd and watched the four of them together onstage. The whole thing felt almost absurd.

Yesterday, when Theo took my camera, he'd said Claire just wanted to see pictures of us as kids.

So much for "just looking." They'd cropped me out of the photos and pieced together a childhood for Claire using my memories.

Seven years of photos. All they had to do was delete me, and those moments became someone else's memories.

When the video ended, I went straight to Theo. "I never said you could show those pictures."

He was perfectly calm. "Evelyn, you're not the only one in those pictures. We all lived those moments, so we have the right to use them too."

Claire soon noticed us.

She came over and asked softly, "Is this about the video? If Evelyn doesn't like it, I can have them take it down."

Noah frowned right away. "Take what down? What's it got to do with you?"

Even Arthur pulled me aside. "Don't make a big deal out of this. When the party's over, I'll stay with you."

Five years of chasing Arthur had taught me exactly how he'd try to smooth this over.

When I was really angry, all he had to do was show me a little tenderness, and I'd make excuses for everyone myself.

But suddenly I didn't want to make excuses for him anymore. I walked away from all four of them.

The party went on late into the night.

Suddenly Claire went pale. "Where's my brooch?"

That emerald brooch was a family heirloom, and it had only been officially passed down to Claire that night.

The guests around her quickly started looking for it.

But Noah walked straight up to me. "You touched her a minute ago, didn't you? Open your bag!"

I looked at him. "You think I stole it?"

He was already growing impatient. "I didn't say that. But you were the only one near her just now. Why can't you just open your bag and let us check?"

Theo came over too. "With so many people here, it's better to clear your name as soon as possible."

I ignored them and looked only at Arthur.

We'd grown up together. He knew better than anyone what kind of person I was.

Arthur finally spoke. "Evelyn, just let them check. If you didn't take it, that'll settle everything."

Even though I'd known he might take Claire's side, his words still stung.

We'd been friends for over a decade. They knew how much I hated people touching my things, and that I'd never dream of taking anything that wasn't mine.

I'd spent a fortune on gifts for Arthur. There was no way I'd steal a brooch when I'd be caught almost immediately.

Yet the moment anything of Claire's went missing, I was their first suspect, even without a shred of evidence.

So much for being childhood friends. So much for knowing me. When it came to Claire, all that trust vanished in an instant.

Whatever affection I had left for them turned cold. I was done arguing. "Go ahead. Look."

Noah quickly searched my bag but found nothing.

In the end, Claire found the brooch herself, caught in the lining of her wrap.

She flushed. "Evelyn, I'm sorry. I had no idea it had slipped in there."

Before I could say anything, Noah let out a relieved breath. "Well, at least you found it."

Theo just said flatly, "It was a misunderstanding."

Arthur went over to Claire. "It's okay. This is your party. Don't cry over this."

But I was the one they'd just treated like a thief.

I felt as if I couldn't breathe. I didn't want to stay for another second.

As I turned to go, Arthur came after me. "I'll take you home."

"No thanks. I can get home on my own."

Just then, my phone buzzed.

I glanced down. "Ms. Pryce, the ship departs in four hours. Please have your passport and all boarding documents ready."

Arthur didn't insist. He just reached up and ruffled my hair. "Then get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

I took one last look at him. There wasn't going to be a tomorrow for us.