The woman’s lips parted, but no sound came out. Around them, the café remained frozen. Even the waiter holding a silver tray had stopped moving. The name Ravenhill Castle seemed to strike the woman deeper than any accusation.
She stood so suddenly her chair scraped across the floor. “You shouldn’t know that name,” she whispered. But before she could say more, the café door opened, and an old man in a black coat stepped inside, leaning heavily on a cane.
His eyes landed on the boy’s silver badge. Then on the woman’s gold pendant. His face changed instantly. “So,” he said in a trembling voice, “after fifteen years… the lost heir has finally been found.”
