Chapter 13 - The NecklaceOn my eighteenth birthday, Mom gave me the blue ruby.
I held it carefully.
"It belonged to your grandfather," she said.
"Then to you."
"Now it's yours."
I looked at the stone.
For years, I had thought the necklace represented money.
Inheritance.
Power.
But I finally understood what it really represented.
Choice.
My grandfather had chosen to protect his daughter.
My mother had chosen to protect me.
My grandmother had chosen to fight for us.
And now I had to choose what kind of person I would become.
"Why me?"
Mom smiled.
"Because you know what hunger feels like."
She touched my cheek.
"And because you know what kindness feels like."
I put the necklace around my neck.
The ruby rested against my skin.
Warm.
Heavy.
Real.
That night, I looked at myself in the mirror.
I was no longer the starving little girl from the ballroom.
But she was still part of me.
And I promised her something.
May you like
If I ever became powerful enough to help someone—
I would.
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