I walked to the pawnshop in the middle of downtown. It was the kind of place you walk into only when you don’t have other options left.
A small bell rang when I pushed the door open.
“I just need a little time.”
An older man stood behind the counter, glasses low on his nose.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” he asked.
I hesitated for a second.
Then I stepped forward and placed the necklace on the counter as if it might bite.
“I need to sell this.”
The man barely glanced at it. Then his hands froze.
His eyes locked onto the necklace.
And the color drained from his face so fast I thought he’d faint!
“I need to sell this.”
“Where did you get this?” he asked, his voice a whisper.
“It was my grandmother’s,” I said, a bit annoyed by the delay. “Look, I just need enough for rent.”
“What was her name?”
I frowned. “Merinda. Merinda L. Why?”
The man’s mouth opened, then closed, before he stumbled back as if the counter had shocked him!
“Miss… you need to sit down,” he muttered, gripping the edge of the counter.
My stomach dropped.
“Where did you get this?”
“Is it fake?” I asked, worried.
He let out a shaky breath.
“No. It’s… It’s real.”
Before I could respond, he grabbed a cordless phone with trembling fingers and hit a speed-dial button.
“I have it,” he said quickly when someone answered. “The necklace. She’s here.”
A cold feeling crept up my spine.
“Who are you calling?” I asked, taking a step back.
He covered the receiver, his eyes wide.
“Miss… the master has been searching for you for 20 years!”
My pulse spiked.
“Who are you calling?”
Before I could demand what that meant, a lock clicked behind the showroom.
The back door swung open.
And when I saw who stepped through, I gasped.
“Desiree?!”
CONTINUE READING…>>
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