Stella glanced down at the jewelry box that had fallen on the floor beside her; the necklace inside had shattered into two pieces. It was only now that Phoebe regained consciousness. She blurted in a haste, "Annie, what are you doing?"

"Phoebe, this woman faked her pregnancy to make my cousin Clarence marry her," Annie remarked. “Then she made every effort to be cruel to Horace."

"Ms. Radomil is not one of those people. Annie, did you get something wrong?”

Annie gave a sardonic laugh. "You are so good at pretending," she murmured, fixing her gaze on Stella. “People can't tell what kind of person you are from your skin."...