Chapter 2 - THE BRACELET WASN'T JUST JEWELRY
Daniel ended the call.
I immediately phoned Rebecca Sloan, Sterling Global’s general counsel.
“Did you send security to the airport?”
“No.”
My stomach tightened.
“Federal investigators?”
“Not through me.”
“Bank representatives?”
“No.”
“Then somebody approached him.”
Rebecca became silent.
“That may not be good.”
“What do you mean?”
“Where exactly is Daniel?”
“International terminal.”
“Destination?”
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
“Find out.”
I searched the photograph again.
Behind Daniel and Chloe, the departure board was partially visible.
Zurich.
London.
Lisbon.
One flight number appeared beside Chloe’s shoulder.
LX9.
Zurich.
I told Rebecca.
She swore softly.
“What?”
“Sterling Global has a dormant subsidiary in Switzerland.”
“I know.”
“No, Audrey. You know the current subsidiary.”
Her voice lowered.
“I mean the old one.”
My mother had built Sterling Global across three decades, beginning with logistics software before moving into infrastructure technology and international acquisitions.
I knew the company history.
Or thought I did.
“What old subsidiary?”
“Sterling Meridian AG.”
“I’ve never heard of it.”
“Almost nobody has.”
“Why?”
“It was dissolved fifteen years ago.”
“Then why does Zurich matter?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“Because Daniel requested archived documents connected to it six months ago.”
My skin prickled.
“Did you approve the request?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“Your mother.”
I stopped.
My mother, Evelyn Sterling, had stepped away from daily operations five years earlier.
She still held honorary chair status.
But she had not discussed Sterling Meridian with me.
Ever.
“What did Daniel request?”
“Original ownership schedules. Beneficial-interest records. Historic voting agreements.”
“Why?”
“He said Evelyn authorized an estate review.”
“She never mentioned it.”
“That bothered me too.”
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Daniel and Chloe were no longer at the gate.
They were inside a small airport office.
Two uniformed security officers stood outside.
Under the photograph:
HE HAS SOMETHING THAT BELONGS TO US.
I stared at the message.
“Rebecca.”
“Yes?”
“Someone just texted me a picture of Daniel.”
“Who?”
“No idea.”
A second message arrived.
THE BRACELET.
I looked toward the empty jewelry case.
My mother’s diamond bracelet.
The supposedly sentimental heirloom Daniel had placed in his pocket.
“What about the bracelet?”
Rebecca went silent.
“You don’t know?”
I hated those words.
“Know what?”
“That bracelet wasn’t originally your mother’s.”
“Whose was it?”
“Your grandmother’s.”
“That doesn’t explain anything.”
“No.”
Rebecca exhaled.
“But the center setting was modified twenty-five years ago.”
“For what?”
“I need you to call your mother.”
I did.
Evelyn answered on the third ring.
“Audrey?”
“Mom, what is inside the bracelet?”
Silence.
Not confusion.
Fear.
“Where is it?”
“With Daniel.”
“What?”
“He took it.”
Her voice changed completely.
“Where is Daniel?”
“O’Hare. He was trying to fly to Zurich.”
My mother swore.
I had heard Evelyn Sterling swear exactly twice in my life.
Once when my father died.
Now.
“Mom.”
“You need to get that bracelet back.”
“Why?”
“Because the diamonds are not what matters.”
“Then what does?”
“The clasp.”
I remembered the antique clasp.
Silver.
Heavier than necessary.
“What’s inside it?”
“A key.”
“To what?”
She said nothing.
“Mom.”
“To a private vault.”
“Where?”
“Zurich.”
My heart began pounding.
“Sterling Meridian?”
Another silence.
“How much do you know?” she asked.
“Nothing. Apparently.”
She inhaled slowly.
“Then listen carefully. Daniel did not start digging into our old Swiss company because of Chloe.”
“What was he looking for?”
“Proof of who actually owns Sterling Global.”
I almost laughed.
“I own it.”
“Sixty-eight percent of the voting shares.”
“Yes.”
“That’s what the current records say.”
Something cold moved through me.
“What do the old records say?”
My mother’s answer came quietly.
“That depends on what Daniel found.”
Then the unknown number sent one more message.
A close-up photograph of the bracelet around Chloe’s wrist.
May you like
Except the clasp was open.
And the compartment inside it was empty.
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