In the quiet of the night, a soft rustling stirred 70-year-old Agnes to be as cautious as a hawk on the hunt. She peered out from under her blanket at the shadowy figure of her son-in-law, Chris, rummaging through her nightstand.

Beads of sweat broke on Agnes’s forehead. She’d been waiting for this moment. With a flick of her wrist, she turned on the light.

“Caught you, you conniving scoundrel! Your unquenchable greed has finally unmasked you…Time to say goodbye to my daughter and surrender your freedom to the cops.”

“A-Agnes??” Chris stammered. A look of agitation and surprise washed over his face. “I thought you were…DEAD.”

A few months ago…

Agnes and her 45-year-old daughter, Grace, entered the Silver Grande Cafe to meet Chris, Grace’s boyfriend of six months.

“Hello, Mrs. Xavier. It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Chris rose for a handshake.

Grace had told her Chris was 13 years her junior, but Agnes never thought he would be so charming. He was also oddly familiar. The trio sat down, and Agnes immediately started giving him the third degree.

“I recognize you… Have we crossed paths before?” Agnes asked.

“I don’t…think so.” Chris stared Agnes evenly in the eye.

“Oh, Mom! I’m sure you’re mistaken.” Grace pushed a plate of lobster toward Agnes. “It’s getting cold. Let’s eat.”

Dinner continued as awkwardly as could be expected and with much frustration on Agnes’s part. Every time she posed a question to Chris, Grace would chime in to answer. When the bill arrived, Agnes watched in disbelief as Grace took out her wallet to pay.

“So your beloved lady pays for your dinner, young man?” Agnes asked Chris.

“Chris’s Grandpa left him a huge inheritance, but he can’t access it until the paperwork clears. He’ll have more than enough money to care for me then, okay?” Grace said, jumping to Chris’s defense yet again.

Flapping his blazer, Chris rose from his chair and hugged Grace. “Thanks for the dinner, darling. I have to give a presentation to an important client from Japan, and I’m already running late.”

Once Chris left the restaurant, Grace admonished her mother for being so rude to Chris.

“I don’t know how to sugarcoat things, Grace. I only know to ask in the face. Because I deserve to know the truth. Let’s go home now.” Agnes got up.

Grace hailed a taxi for her mother, saying she had to meet a friend in the theater. Grace stared idly out the cab window as the driver navigated traffic. Just as the taxi crossed a lane, Agnes noticed Chris entering a costume rental store with a bag in hand.

“Stop the car, driver!” Agnes instructed the cabbie, and the taxi came to a halt on the roadside.

Agnes lowered the window. Her sharp eyes weren’t deceiving her; that was Chris! A few minutes later, he exited the store looking terrible. Gone was the crisp blue suit from dinner, replaced by shabby trousers, a faded hoodie, and badly scuffed shoes. This was definitely not suitable attire for an important business presentation!

Agnes could only assume he’d lied to her and Grace. She asked the cabbie to follow him, but moments later, Chris entered an alley with insufficient room for the car. She followed Chris on foot. Soon, Agnes realized she was in a shady neighborhood notorious for criminal activities.

She watched in disbelief as Chris slipped into a run-down house. She crept closer, careful not to be seen or caught, and peered through a cracked window.

Her jaw dropped when she saw a familiar picture of herself wearing a $400 000 diamond necklace that had been in her family for generations.

As she pondered where Chris got the photo, some dark memories rushed back, jolting Agnes like a thunderbolt.

“That’s why Chris seemed so familiar,” Agnes whispered.

15 years ago, a young man named Larry, who looked exactly like Chris, had tried to steal the necklace. He claimed it was his family heirloom that was stolen by Agnes’s ancestors. A legal battle ensued, but Larry was eventually sent to prison, where he died in a fire.

Agnes remembered seeing Larry’s younger brother in the courtroom. In a flash, she realized that young man was Chris and that he must’ve sought Grace out so he could get revenge for his brother’s tragic death.

But Grace would never believe her without proof. With trembling fingers, Agnes aimed her phone’s camera at Chris’s living room. She accidentally triggered the flash while trying to click a picture of him staring at the photo of the necklace.

Chris spun round to face the window. Agnes fled. She watched Chris appear on the doorstep from her hiding spot behind a trash can. He looked up and down the street, then went back inside. Agnes sighed with relief. With her heart racing, she escaped from the alley and hailed a cab to take her home.

The following morning, Agnes rushed to her daughter’s apartment to save her and the family heirloom from Chris.

“Darling, I need to tell you something…it’s about Chris…last night I saw him going to this…”

Her voice trailed off when she saw Chris sitting on the couch with Grace. He looked up and smiled at Agnes.

“Mom, is everything okay?” Grace asked.

“We need to talk, Grace. And Chris, you need to hear this too.” Agnes settled down, her gaze fixed on Chris as she recounted everything that happened 15 years ago.

“Mrs. Xavier, you’re mistaken.” Chris shook his head. “I had no idea my brother had anything to do with your family necklace. I’m shocked myself. I was in the meeting, I swear. Not in some alley. Besides, If I wanted to rob Grace, why would I plan this?”

Chris reached into his pocket and removed a small velvet box. Agnes watched in disbelief as Chris got down on one knee and popped the question to Grace.

“But I have proof!” Agnes took out her phone to show the photo she’d taken. Although Chris’s face was visible, the photo of her and the necklace was hidden by a ball of light from the flash reflecting off the window.

Grace only had eyes for Chris. She forgot everything Agnes had just told her as he slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her.

Agnes was taken aback by the swiftness of the proposal. She suspected Chris knew she’d been snooping because of the phone’s flash and had orchestrated the proposal to divert Grace’s attention. Determined to thwart Chris’s plan, Agnes decided to act ahead of him.

“In that case, let’s do one thing,” she interrupted the couple. “Give me the family necklace, sweetheart, and there won’t be any more drama!”

Grace frowned. “The necklace is safe, and you gave it to me, remember? Why do you want it back now? I want to wear it for the wedding.”

“I loaned it to you, Grace, but it’s still mine. Wear something else for your wedding, not this necklace. Return it…now.”

Chris watched Grace remove the necklace from a hidden vault in the fireplace in disbelief. His face contorted with concealed frustration.

“Here, take your necklace.” Grace angrily shoved the case into Agnes’s hand. “I don’t want it.”

“I’m very happy for you both. Congratulations!” Agnes bitterly replied as she tossed the jewel case into her handbag. She then approached Chris and whispered:

“We’ll continue to play your wicked game, Chris…as long as you don’t run away! You’ll never get your dirty hands on this necklace.”

Agnes assumed Chris would disappear once she’d secured the necklace, but two weeks later, he and Grace tied the knot at a picturesque resort perched above the shimmering sea.

Agnes was shocked that Chris had taken his act this far. She couldn’t figure out his next move, so she was very vigilant. She stepped outside for a breath of fresh air on the restaurant’s balcony, 30 meters above the crashing waves.

Chris suddenly spoke behind her.

“You know, Mrs. Xavier, you were right about the necklace!” Chris stared balefully at Agnes as he approached. “It rightfully belongs to my family. I’ll do whatever it takes to get it back.”

Agnes craned her neck to see behind Chris, only to realize they were alone. Even if she cried for help, the music in the party hall was too loud for anyone to hear her. Agnes was…trapped.

“What are you doing?!” Agnes stepped back. “Don’t come any closer. Stay right there.”

“You shouldn’t have meddled in my affairs,” Chris sneered. “Everything was going according to plan…until you followed me home. You thought I didn’t see that flash by the window? You’re an obstacle on my path. So why don’t you just…” He lunged toward her.

“Chris, stop! Please…No!” Agnes shouted in panic.

But it was too late. Chris grabbed her shoulders and pushed her. Agnes tried to grab the railing, but her fingers grasped at thin air. She plummeted toward the ocean.

The next day…

Agnes’s eyes fluttered open. Everything ached as she craned her neck and saw her leg encased in a bulky cast. She was in a hospital bed.

“Mom, you’re awake!” Grace rushed to her, teary-eyed. “It’s a miracle you survived that fall with minimal injuries.”

“Chris pushed me, Grace,” Agnes said.

Grace’s expression shifted from relief to anger. She refused to believe her and ended up storming out of Agnes’s room in a fury. Grace’s stubborn denial gnawed at Agnes’s heart.

Then, a haunting realization gripped Agnes—Chris had the perfect opportunity to steal the necklace and escape forever.

She called the nurse and asked to be discharged, but the nurse refused. Once she left the ward, Agnes hatched an escape plan. She limped out of her bed, changed her clothes, then eased herself into a wheelchair. She wheeled down the hall and into the elevator.

A rush of anxiety and adrenaline washed over her as she escaped from the hospital and approached a taxi stand. At home, Agnes checked the safe and found the necklace intact. Chris hadn’t broken into her house yet, so she put out all the lights and crept into bed. She knew Chris would come for the necklace…and he did.

Back to the present…

“You survived that fall?” Chris scowled and cracked his knuckles. “Guess I’ll have to get my hands dirty and send you off on my own!”

He was advancing towards her when the bedroom door burst open. A squad of police officers surrounded Chris and arrested him. Grace rushed to her mother’s side when she heard the news and apologized for not believing her.

“The truth always finds its way out!” Agnes said.

Agnes hugged Grace as they prepared to leave for the hospital to continue Agnes’s treatment.

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