Chapter 2 - The Pale Blue Box
Time jumped to 11:47 PM.
The city lights glowed dimly through the falling snow. The apartment was finally quiet. Noah’s fever had broken with the medication, and he was sleeping heavily against Lauren’s chest.
Lauren sat slumped on the expensive velvet couch, completely drained of all human energy. She carefully shifted Noah’s weight and reached over to the polished oak side table to grab a burp cloth.
As her hand brushed the table, she bumped into a small, velvet bag that Cole had carelessly shoved behind a stack of holiday mail before he left.
The bag tipped over. A pale blue jewelry box slid out onto the wood.
Lauren frowned. It was a box from the most exclusive, expensive jeweler in Chicago. Her heart gave a small, pathetic flutter. Maybe Cole was stressed. Maybe this was his way of apologizing for his cruelty.
Keeping one arm wrapped securely around her sleeping baby, Lauren reached out with her free hand and popped the lid of the box open.
Resting on black velvet was a stunning, breathtaking diamond and pearl necklace. It was easily worth twenty thousand dollars.
But it wasn't the necklace that made Lauren’s blood run completely cold. It was the small, handwritten gift tag resting right on top of the pearls.
“To Sierra. The only woman who truly understands me. Merry Christmas, my love.”
Lauren stared at the elegant, cursive handwriting. It was Cole’s writing.
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She didn't scream. She didn't drop the box. The cinematic realism of the moment crashed over her in complete, suffocating silence.
👉 How will the exhausted mother react to the ultimate betrayal on Christmas Eve?
