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Chapter 38 The Shattered Bait and the Real Prize
I stood frozen in the hospital hallway, Julian’s question hanging in the air between us. Would I ask my grandmother about my mother’s supposed affair? The truth was, I didn’t know. But I did know one thing–I wasn’t finished with Ivy yet.
“I’m not running away this time,” I said, turning on my heel.
Julian’s eyes widened. “Hazel, wait-”
I ignored him, marching back toward Ivy’s room with purpose in every step. The medical team was just leaving as I arrived, a nurse giving me a sympathetic nod as she passed.
“She’s stabilized for now, she murmured.
I pushed the door open to find Ivy propped up against her pillows. Her eyes lit up with malicious triumph when she saw me, as if she’d expected me to come crawling back, desperate to know more about my mother.
“Back so soon?” she taunted, her voice weak but dripping with condescension. “Can’t handle the truth about your precious mommy?”
Eleanor stood protectively by her daughter’s side, while my father remained by the window, his back to the room. The coward couldn’t even face me.
“Actually,” I replied coolly, “I’m not here about that.”
I walked closer to her bed, noting how she instinctively shrank back against her pillows. Even now, when she held what she thought was the ultimate emotional weapon against me, she feared my reaction. That told me everything I needed to know about the validity ner claims.
“Whether what you said about my mother is true or not doesn’t change who I am, I said, my voice steady. “But I did want to see your face when I tell you that you’ve lost. Again.”
Ivy’s expression darkened, “Lost? I have everything I want. Julian, the bracelet-”
I laughed, the sound startling everyone in the room. “Julian? Look at him, Ivy.” I
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gestured toward him standing aw irdly by the door. “Does he look like a man in love? Or a man trapped by guilt and manipulation?”
Julian’s face drained of color as lvy’s gaze snapped to him.
“That’s not true,” Ivy hissed, but doubt had already crept into her voice. “Tell her, Julian. Tell her you love me.”
Julian opened his mouth, then closed it again. His silence spoke volumes.
“And as for the bracelet… I continued, enjoying the way Ivy’s fingers automatically went to the jade at her wrist. “Well, why don’t you tell them about that, Julian?”
All eyes turned to Julian, who looked like he wanted to disappear through the floor.
“What is she talking about?” Ivy demanded, her voice rising to a dangerous pitch.
Julian swallowed hard. “The bracelet is authentic, Ivy. I wouldn’t give you anything
less.”
“Of course it is,” she said, but there was a hint of uncertainty in her eyes now. She looked back at me with naked hatred. “This is just another one of your tricks.”
“Is it?” I asked innocently. “Julian, did you have the bracelet authenticated before
giving it to Ivy?”
Julian’s hesitation was brief but telling. “I… trusted the seller.”
“You trusted an antique dealer to sell you a million–dollar piece without proper authentication?” I raised an eyebrow. That doesn’t sound like the careful businessman
I once knew.”
Ivy’s face had gone from gray to flushed with rage. “You’re lying. This is the real bracelet. Tell her, Julian!”
But doubt had visibly taken hold of Julian now. He stepped forward tentatively. “Hazel, what are you say…g?”
“I’m saying,” I replied calmly, “that Ivy just smashed a very convincing replica to bits. A replica that cost me a few thousand dollars, not a million.”
The room went deadly silent. Then, like a volcano erupting, Ivy exploded.
“You’re LYING!” she screamed, her thin body trembling with fury. “Julian, she’s lying!”
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- TE.
“Calm down, darling. Your blood pressure”
Eleanor moved to her daughter’s
“I don’t care about my blood pressure!” Ivy shrieked, pushing her mother away. Her wild eyes locked on Julian. “Tell me she’s lying!”
Julian looked between us, confusion written across his face. “How would she even-
“Because,” I interjected smoothly, “I’ve been carrying the real bracelet all along”
With deliberate slowness, I reached into my bag and pulled out an identical jade bracelet. The luminous green stones caught the light, their quality unmistakable even
to an untrained eve.
Ivy’s face contorted with fury and disbelief. “That’s a fake! The one I’m wearing is real!”
“Is it?” I asked mildly. I held up the bracelet in my hand. “This one has the Sterling family crest hidden on the inside clasp–the mark of authenticity that only appears on pieces from their collection.”
Harrison finally turned from the window, his eyes narrowing. “How did you pull this off?” he demanded.
I smiled thinly. “I know my sister better than she thinks. I’ve watched her destroy everything precious to me my entire life. Did you really think I’d hand over a priceless heirloom just for her to inevitably damage it in one of her tantrums?”
Ivy looked down at the bracelet on her wrist with dawning horror. With trembling fingers, she examined the clasp, searching for the marking I’d mentioned.
“It’s not there,” she whispered, then louder. “It’s not there!”
In a sudden movement, she tore the bracelet off and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall with a dull thud that confirmed its lack of value.
was fake!”
“You knew!” she screamed at Julian. “You must have known it was
Julian shook his head, looking as shocked as everyone else. “I had no idea, Ivy. I swear.”
“Liar!” Tears streamed down her face now. “You’ve never loved me! You still love her!”
The accusation hung in the air, raw and painful. Julian didn’t deny it immediately, which was answer enough.
“I tried,” he said finally, his voice breaking. “God knows I tried, Ivy. But you never really
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loved me either. You just wanted to re me away from Hazel.”
Ivy’s face crumpled. For a brief moment, I almost felt sorry for her–until I remembered all the pain she’d caused me.
“I’m leaving” Julian continued, turning toward the door. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“No!” Ivy screamed, lunging forward to grab his arm with surprising strength for someone so ill. “You can’t leave me! I’m dying!”
“Ivy, please, Eleanor begged, trying to pull her daughter back into bed. “Think of
your
health.”
“Julian,” Harrison intervened, his voice stern. “You made a commitment to my daughter.”
Julian hesitated, and I could see the weight of guilt settling back onto his shoulders. For a moment, I thought he might give in again, trapped in the same cycle of manipulation.
But then Ivy made a fatal mistake. She snatched the fake bracelet from where it had fallen on the floor and hurled it at my feet with all her remaining strength. It shattered, pieces skittering across the polished hospital floor.
“There!” she spat. “Now neither of us has it!”
I looked down at the broken bracelet, then back up at Ivy with genuine pity. “You really
never learn, do you?”
Julian stared at the broken pieces, then at lvy with a mixture of shock and disappointment. “You need to apologize to Hazel. Now.”
“Apologize?” Ivy laughed hysterically. “Never!”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, carefully slipping the real bracelet back into my bag. “It was just a cheap fake, a. r all.”
Harrison stepped forward, his face darkening with anger. “This is ridiculous. If that’s the real bracelet,” he gestured to my bag, “hand it over right now.”
“I don’t think so,” I replied calmly. “This bracelet belongs to the Sterling family. I’m merely its custodian until it can be properly returned.”
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“You’ve been playing us all along” ” nor accused, her voice shaking with rage.
“I learned from the best,” I said, meeting her gaze unflinchingly. “Years of watching you and Ivy manipulate everyone around you taught me well.
I turned to leave, savoring the sweet taste of victory. For once, I was walking away on my terms, with my head held high..
“You think you’ve won,” Ivy called after me, her voice hoarse from screaming. “But you’ll always be alone! No one will ever love you like Julian loved me!”
I paused at the door, considering whether to respond. In the end, I couldn’t resist one parting shot.
“The difference between us, Ivy, is that I don’t need to steal someone else’s love to feel
worthy.”
As I walked out, I heard Ivy’s hysterical voice rising to a fever pitch behind me: “Julian, go get her bracelet! Get it for me!”
I didn’t look back to see his response. I didn’t need to. The sound of footsteps hurrying after me told me everything I needed to know about the choice Julian had finally made.
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