The Discarded Wife
He looked desperately at Elena, who was standing perfectly still by the console table, untouched and entirely protected within Killian’s line of sight.
"Elena..." Julian rasped, his eyes frantic. "They set me up... run... call the police..."
Elena looked at the man who had traded her freedom to save his own skin. The silence in the room was heavy, broken only by Julian’s ragged gasps. She slowly reached up, her fingers undoing the top buttons of her dove-grey blouse, pulling the fabric aside to expose the heavy, raw emerald pendant resting against her skin.
Julian’s eyes locked onto the green stone, his pupils dilating in sheer shock as he recognized the missing Dutta family relic.