Hannah sat at her kitchen table with the receipt on her left and the gemological report on her right. Legally, the law was clear: she had purchased the item in good faith at a public sale. The thirteen-dollar receipt gave her undisputed ownership. She could walk away with the full auction price.
Yet, holding the ring brought back the memory of her own grief and the weight of lost things. Keeping money that had been meant to pay a working woman’s stolen wages felt like carrying a curse.
Hannah called Maeve and asked her to come to Miller’s shop. She also invited Clara, who arrived looking pale after reading her mother’s confession letter. Hannah placed the ring on the glass counter between them. “We are going to sell this properly,” Hannah said. “And we are going to fix this.”