Whenever Rosamond clashed with Olympia, he dragged out the same line, insisting she was the elder, the one who should yield.
Even now, he still hadn't exhausted that card.
Rosamond couldn't take it anymore. She wrenched her arm free.
"I'm no sister-in-law of hers!"
"Have you forgotten? Not once, from the very beginning, has she ever called me that."
She turned to leave without waiting for his reaction, but something caught her eye: the bracelet on Olympia's wrist.
Rosamond's heart slammed against her ribs.
That bracelet was part of her dowry from her mother, the only keepsake her late grandmother had left behind.
Rosamond closed the distance to Olympia in three strides and grabbed her arm.
"Where did you get this bracelet?"
Olympia let out a shriek, struggling wildly.
"Attorney Henson, what are you doing? Let go of me!"
Rosamond's voice was ice, her entire body radiating cold fury.
"I asked you a question. Why is this bracelet on your wrist?"
Before the words had fully left her mouth, a hard shove hit her between the shoulder blades, and a sharp pain tore through her arm.
She lost her grip on Olympia and went tumbling down the steps.
Bryce had Olympia in his arms, his frigid gaze fixed on Rosamond where she lay.
"Rosa, don't push it. I gave that bracelet to Olympia."
Rosamond's leg had struck the edge of a step. The pain was blinding, as if the bone had cracked.
Hearing those words, she forced herself upright, both hands pressed hard against her chest, and every humiliation she had swallowed over the years finally erupted.
"That was my mother's dowry to me! What right do you have to give it away? Give it back!"
Irritation creased Bryce's brow.
"It's just a bracelet. Olympia liked it, so I let her have it. What's the big deal, Rosamond? You're being incredibly petty."
Olympia put on a wounded expression.
"Bryce, since Attorney Henson doesn't want me to have it, I'll just give it back. Please don't fight over me."
Bryce stroked Olympia's hair, his voice soft with affection.
"Don't worry about it. I gave it to you, so it's yours. She's always been stingy. Just ignore her."
Rosamond's eyes were bloodshot.
"Stingy? Do you honestly think I don't know how much you've given her over the years?"
"I let everything else slide, but not this bracelet. If you won't return it, I'll call the police. It's my dowry. You had no right to dispose of it."