Andrew's face drained of color. "About the curse... I'll get to the bottom of it. If Kate's responsible—"
"It doesn't matter anymore." I cut him off. "Just keep your entire family away from me."
Kate dragged her suitcase toward the door, eyes rimmed red. Andrew opened his mouth, but the ice in my gaze silenced him. He cast one last look my way before ushering her out.
The lock clicked shut. My legs gave out—not a dramatic slide down the wall, just a graceless collapse onto the floorboards, every drop of adrenaline spent. The Heartbreak Curse still throbbed in my chest, a dull echo of earlier agony, but the numbness spreading through my limbs was worse.
I didn't wallow. By morning, a locksmith was drilling out the core to replace the locks entirely.
Then came the purge. Everything Kate had touched—bedding, skincare bottles, even the sofa slipcovers—went straight to the dumpster.
Task complete, I drove to the Delgado estate. Not for nostalgia. For retrieval—and severance.
The villa was silent.
Natalie met me at the door, eyes widening. "Mrs. Delgado? You're back? Mr. Delgado didn't return last night..."
"Just here to pack." I bypassed her and headed upstairs.
The master bedroom still held the stale air of yesterday's chaos. I ignored it, cleared my wardrobe of essentials, secured my documents. Then I entered the study.
I opened the safe. My mother's jewelry box sat inside, but when I lifted the lid, the velvet interior was empty.
The pearl necklace was gone.
The only keepsake I had left of her.
Cold rage spiked through my blood. I marched downstairs. "Natalie. Who entered the study?"
She fidgeted, avoiding my eyes. "Well, Miss Fox stopped by yesterday. Said she needed to find a book..."
An engine roared outside, cutting her off.
The front door swung open. Andrew strode in, Kate trailing like a shadow. His eyes landed on the suitcase, brow furrowing. "Leah? What is this?"
"Divorce." I slapped the papers onto the coffee table. "Sign it."
Kate stepped forward, concern painted on her face. "Leah, don't be impulsive. I know you're upset about yesterday, and I apologize, but—"
"The necklace." I extended my hand. "Give it back."
She froze, blinking innocently. "What necklace?"
"My mother's pearls. You took them from the safe yesterday."
Andrew turned to his cousin, expression darkening. "Kate? Did you take it?"
"I didn't!" Her eyes welled instantly. "Leah, you can't frame me just because you hate me!"
I didn't waste breath arguing. I pulled out my phone and tapped the screen—a miniature camera I'd installed in the study before the wedding. Paranoia that had finally paid off.
I held up the screen. The video played clearly: Kate slipping into the study, cracking the safe, pocketing the pearls.
Silence. Heavy and suffocating.
Andrew stared at the screen, then slowly turned to Kate. The room dropped ten degrees. "You stole from my wife?"
"I... I just thought it was pretty!" Kate grabbed his arm, panic rising. "I was just borrowing it! Andrew, I'm sorry, I'll give it back!"
He ripped his arm free, disgusted. A vein pulsed at his temple.
He looked at me, voice raspy. "Leah... I didn't know she was capable of this."
"Now you do." I pocketed my phone. "Return the necklace and sign the papers. Today."
I grabbed my suitcase and headed for the door.
"Leah!"
His voice cracked, desperation bleeding through. "Is there really no room left? None at all?"
I paused, hand on the doorknob. Didn't turn around.
"The moment you chose to protect her over me, you burned that bridge yourself."
Three days after I'd settled back into my apartment, my phone rang.
Quinn Whitney. My childhood friend, the boy next door who'd spent years abroad. Finally back.
"Leah!" His voice burst through the speaker, bright and infectious. "Heard the news—congratulations on the divorce! Come out, let me buy you a drink. We're celebrating your prison break and washing away the bad luck tonight!"
