“And you throw it away in a fit of panic because you got caught with another woman.”

“You wanted the money too, Mother!” Graham screamed, his composure completely shattered.

“You wanted the land!”

Marjorie turned back to me, her chin tilted upward, refusing to show a sliver of defeat.

“Your grandfather was not the saint you think he was, Evelyn,” Marjorie said.

“He did not buy that diamond.”

“He took it from my father during the Great Depression as payment for a debt that had already been settled.”

“He knew my father was desperate, and he used his position on the bank board to force the transaction.”

“That ring belongs to the Mercers, and by extension, to the history of this town.”

Pastor Whitcomb closed his eyes, his head bowed as if in prayer, though his hands were trembling against his robes.

“Marjorie, please,” the pastor said.

“The truth is already out.”

“No, Arthur, she needs to understand,” Marjorie said, taking another step toward me.

“I manipulated the trust because your grandfather stole our family’s livelihood, Evelyn.”