Chapter 2 - The Brass Key
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Aunt Marjorie leaned toward the wealthy socialite beside her, her voice carrying over the string quartet.
“Well, at least she’ll be close to dessert. Lord knows the girl doesn't skip a meal.”
The laughter that followed was quiet enough to be called harmless afterward, but sharp enough to draw blood in the moment. Norah released her grip on the velvet chair. She had come directly from the conservation lab, changed in a cramped public restroom, and driven north through freezing sleet with a small gift box on the passenger seat. Inside were antique silver cuff links Ethan had admired months earlier. She had remembered because remembering people was how she loved them.
She turned and walked toward the kitchen doors. A gray-haired chauffeur stood immediately when she reached the service table.
“Please, miss,” he said, offering his chair with a kind smile.
“No,” Norah replied softly. “You were here first.”
She pulled out the remaining metal folding chair. As she sat, the delicate gold chain beneath her navy dress caught against the sharp metal back. The clasp snapped. A small brass key slipped free from her neckline, striking the marble floor with a bright, ringing click.
Vanessa appeared out of nowhere before Norah could even bend down to retrieve it. Her sister bent, reached, and then suddenly stopped, her hand hovering over the metal.
For one strange, terrifying second, Vanessa's face lost absolutely every trace of color.
“You still have that?” Vanessa whispered, her voice stripped of its usual haughty confidence.
Norah calmly reached down and picked up the key, holding it in her palm. “Of course I do.”
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Their grandmother had given it to her at sixteen, pressing it into her palm beneath the kitchen table while Celeste loudly discussed Vanessa’s expensive summer plans. Some doors only belong to you, her grandmother had whispered. Norah had worn it every single day since. She had never known what it opened, only that it was hers.
Vanessa straightened up quickly, swallowing hard. “Sentimental,” she said, forcing a tight smile. Then she walked away far too quickly, looking over her shoulder.
