Chapter 4 - The Signet Ring
Elena slowly reached her slender fingers into the thick, messy layer of broken cake and frosting. Her fingers wrapped around a heavy gold ring encrusted with small, brilliant-cut diamonds.
She lifted it out and used a clean corner of her white lace apron to carefully wipe away the sweet white icing covering its surface.
When the metal was clean, it revealed a deeply engraved imperial family crest: two crossed broadswords beneath a heavy crown.
Elena held the solid gold ring up toward Ethan, her dark eyes locking directly into his with an intense, quiet urgency.
"It wasn't an accident, Ethan..." Elena said, her voice low, firm, and completely controlled. "Look at what was stuck in the middle tier."
Ethan’s gaze locked onto the shining piece of jewelry in her hand. His heart dropped into his stomach as cold, lethal shock washed over his features.
That ring was not an ordinary piece of jewelry. It was a custom family heirloom crafted by an elite European goldsmith decades ago. Only three identical copies of that exact crest ring existed in the entire world: one belonged to Ethan himself, one was buried with his late father, and the third belonged to his younger brother, Julian Vance.
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Ethan’s mind raced as he connected the dots in a split second. The ring had caught on the decorative gold framework of the pedestal when the attacker pushed it, pulling it off the man's finger as the structure collapsed.
👉 Read PART 5 to see who was standing by the ballroom doors!
