“Desiree?!”
My grandmother’s best friend.
Older now—but unmistakable.
The moment she saw me, something in her broke.
“I’ve been looking for you,” she said softly, pulling me into a hug.
It caught me off guard.
Warm. Familiar.
Unexpected.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“You look just like her,” she said.
“Nana?”
She nodded.
Then she looked at the necklace.
“That’s why I’ve been searching for you.”
I frowned. “Why?”
She motioned for me to sit.
“What I’m about to tell you… your grandmother never had the chance to explain.”
My chest tightened.
“She wasn’t your biological grandmother.”
I shook my head.
“No. She raised me—”
“And she loved you,” Desiree said quickly. “That part is true. Completely.”
“Then what are you saying?”
She took a breath.
“Years ago… she found you.”
My mind went blank.
“Found me?”
“In the bushes. Near a walking path. You were a baby… wrapped carefully. And you had that necklace.”
I stared at her.
“That’s not possible.”
“It is. She brought you to me first. We tried to find your family. There was no note, no identification. Just you… and the necklace.”
“So she kept me?”
“She went through legal channels. It took time—but eventually, you became hers.”
My throat tightened.
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
“She didn’t want you to feel like you didn’t belong.”
Silence filled the room.
“And the necklace?” I asked.
“That’s where things changed.”
She looked at it.
“It’s not ordinary. Even back then, we knew that. It pointed to a very specific world… one where things like this aren’t lost—unless something went very wrong.”
A chill ran through me.
“Your grandmother helped me open my first shop,” Desiree continued. “Over time, I expanded… and quietly kept watch.”
“For me?”
“For the necklace. Because one day… it might lead us back to your family.”
I sat back, overwhelmed.
“And after your Nana passed, I kept searching for 20 years.”
“What happens now?” I asked.
“That depends on you.”
I looked at the necklace.
“You think you can find them?”
She met my eyes.
“I already have.”
My breath caught.
“With your permission… I call them.”
The room felt smaller.
I took a breath.
“Do it.”
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