Emma Was Blamed for a Missing Heirloom — Then Sarah Saw Its Tracker Inside Aunt Nicole’s Handbag
Chapter 3 — The False Bottom
Sarah looked at the wooden jewelry box.
It had belonged to Helen for more than forty years.
Sarah had seen it thousands of times.
She had never heard of a hidden compartment.
Nicole removed one of the velvet trays.
Then pressed the back corner.
Click.
A thin wooden panel lifted.
Emma’s eyes widened.
Sarah stared.
“How did you know about that?”
Nicole didn’t answer.
Inside the compartment was nothing.
Completely empty.
Nicole stared at it.
“No.”
Sarah noticed the reaction.
“What was supposed to be there?”
Nicole began searching around the edges.
“A letter.”
“From who?”
Nicole looked at her sister.
“Mom.”
Sarah’s stomach tightened.
“What letter?”
Nicole sat down.
For several seconds, she couldn’t speak.
Then she admitted something Sarah had never known.
Three months before Helen died, Nicole had overheard her speaking with family attorney Martin Hale.
Helen told Martin she had written a letter for Sarah.
A letter containing something she had hidden from both daughters for decades.
Nicole later asked Helen about it.
Helen refused to explain.
She said:
“It belongs to Sarah’s story, not yours.”
Nicole became obsessed with finding it.
After Helen died, she searched the house.
Nothing.
Then, several weeks ago, Nicole found an old photograph showing Helen placing papers beneath the false bottom of the jewelry box.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Sarah asked.
Nicole looked ashamed.
“Because I was afraid of what the letter said.”
“About me?”
Nicole nodded.
“About both of us.”
