(Adele's POV)
The red wine dripped down Valerie's emerald dress in slow, deliberate rivulets.
Her perfect smile was gone.
Then I reached over, picked up the empty wine glass, and slammed it onto the marble floor.
Crystal exploded outward in every direction. The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot.
"Those earrings," I said, my voice carrying easily through the stunned silence, "were left to me by my grandmother Eleanor. Not to you."
Valerie's hands flew to her dress. Her mouth opened in outrage. "How dare you-"
"No, how dare you?" I cut her off, turning to face my mother. "And you, Mother. What right did you have to give away my inheritance to someone who isn't even of our bloodline?"
"Adele." My mother's voice cut through the room like a blade. "Apologize. Right now."
"No."
Miranda's eyes went cold. "I said apologize."
"And I said no." I turned to look at Eric, who stood protectively in front of Melody. "Between me and Melody, who do you believe?"
He didn't hesitate. "Melody would never steal anything. She's not that kind of person."
The words landed exactly the way I knew they would."Of course not," I laughed bitterly. "Sweet, innocent Melody would never do anything wrong."
Cora went very still inside me. Not because it hurt less. Because it hurt too much to react to.
Where once the eighteen-year-old Eric had held me in his heart and eyes, that wasn't the case anymore. Melody was foremost in his mind now.
Eight years. I had given this man eight years of my life.
I reached out and grabbed the nearest glass from a passing tray. I didn't throw it at him. I dropped it at his feet.
It shattered across his shoes.
"Eight years," I said quietly. "You don't believe me, but you believe your secretary?"
"I'm so very sorry that I wasted eight years of my life on someone who doesn't believe a word I say."
His jaw tightened. "You're making a scene."
"I'm already in one."
Before he could respond, the doors at the far end of the ballroom opened.
A servant walked in, moving quickly, holding something small in his raised hand.
"Miss Valerie." His voice was breathless. "I found these in your room. On the vanity. I thought you'd want to know right away."
He held up the earrings.
The emerald drops caught the chandelier light. The familiar asymmetry of the left stone was unmistakable.
Valerie recovered faster than most people would have. "Oh." She laughed softly, pressing a hand to her chest. "I completely forgot. I was looking at them earlier and I must have set them down. With everything going on tonight, it completely slipped my mind."
I walked across the room, took the earrings directly from the servant's hand, and put them on.