Chapter 1 - THE BRACELET THAT BROUGHT THE DEAD BACK
The silver bracelet on Emma Hayes's wrist belonged to my dead sister.
I knew it before I touched it.
A tiny swallow hung from the chain, its left wing bent slightly upward. Beneath the clasp were two engraved letters.
L.V.
Lily Vale.
My sister had worn that bracelet every day for six years.
I bought it for her seventeenth birthday after earning enough money to purchase something that didn't come from a pawnshop.
Five years ago, the police returned her belongings after the fire.
Her clothes.
Her purse.
A broken phone.
But not the bracelet.
They told me it had been destroyed.
Now it rested against the wrist of a woman I'd supposedly met by accident.
I stared at Emma.
Where did you get that?
Her smile faded.
She looked down at the bracelet.
It was a gift.
From whom?
She hesitated.
A friend.
My heart began pounding.
What friend?
Emma studied my expression.
Why?
I swallowed.
Because that bracelet belonged to my sister.
The color drained from her face.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then Emma signed slowly.
Your sister was Lily Vale?
I felt the floor shift beneath me.
You knew her?
Emma's eyes filled with tears.
She taught me to believe I could have a future.
Behind us, a glass struck the bar.
Vincent Marlow had dropped his whiskey.
I didn't turn.
Not yet.
My attention remained on Emma's trembling hands.
Where did you meet Lily?
At a community center in South Philadelphia.
When?
Six years ago.
I stared.
Six years.
That meant Emma had known Lily before the fire.
Before the funeral.
Before I spent five years punishing everyone responsible for failing to protect her.
Emma continued.
She volunteered with children who were learning sign language. I was nineteen and helping after school.
I swallowed.
Why didn't I know you?
Lily kept some parts of her life private.
That sounded like my sister.
She had always believed people deserved spaces untouched by the Vale name.
I looked toward the men at the bar.
Vincent was whispering something to Paul Greco.
Sal Russo had stopped smiling.
The three men had arranged this date.
And now I knew it hadn't been an ordinary prank.
I turned back to Emma.
Did Vincent arrange for you to meet me?
She nodded.
He said you owned several businesses and supported children's education.
Did he mention my sister?
No.
A cold sensation moved through my chest.
Then why are you wearing her bracelet tonight?
Emma reached into her purse.
She removed a folded envelope.
Lily gave me this before she disappeared.
My hands went numb.
Emma continued.
She asked me to keep it until someone came looking for the truth.
I stared at the envelope.
My sister's handwriting covered the front.
For Dominic.
Only when he is ready to listen.
I had spent five years believing Lily died in a warehouse fire.
But Emma looked directly into my eyes and signed something that made the restaurant disappear around me.
Dominic, I never saw your sister's body.
I stopped breathing.
May you like
Then she added:
And Lily told me the fire was going to happen three days before it did.
