Chapter 253: Another Key
Rebecca’s POV
I stood in the center of my bedroom, staring down at the silver chain draped over my hands. I couldn’t believe it. Kaden had actually given me the locket.
Why? How did he give it to me so easily and so quickly?
Stephanie rushed over to me, her eyes wide with excitement. "Open it! Let’s see what’s inside!"
I nodded slowly, my fingers tracing the pendant. But as I held it, my mind kept drifting back to the way Kaden had looked at me just minutes ago. The softness in his eyes. The genuine concern in his voice when he thought I was in pain.
This Kaden felt so different. He was selfless, almost gentle. How could the same ruthless Alpha who had locked this collar around my neck hand over his dead mate’s most cherished possession without blinking?
"What are you thinking about?" Stephanie asked, nudging my arm. "We don’t have much time!"
"This Kaden..." I murmured, my voice trailing off as a strange knot formed in my stomach. "He’s changed. He’s not acting like the man I knew."
Stephanie let out a quiet sigh, her expression softening. "Perhaps this was how Kaden was before he lost Helen. Before all the anger and grief took over."
My stomach twisted into a hard, uncomfortable knot.
"Think about it, Rebecca," Stephanie continued carefully, stepping closer. "You never knew him before he lost her. By the time you met Kaden, he’d already lost his mate. He’d already become that cold, rigid, heartless Alpha everyone feared. Maybe grief changed him back then."
I looked away, staring at the tiled floor. I didn’t like where this conversation was going. It was dangerous to start humanizing him now.
"So what?" I muttered, my voice hardening. "That doesn’t erase what he did to me."
"I didn’t say it did."
"Good."
"Rebecca—"
"No." I sharply reached behind my neck again and unclasped the chain. "We’re not doing this. I know what you’re thinking."
Stephanie let out a quiet sigh. "I’m not thinking anything."
"You’re thinking that because he’s being kind to me now, I should reconsider leaving!"
"I didn’t say that either."
"You didn’t have to."
I pulled the necklace free, bringing it around to the front. The moment the locket left my chest, the choker stopped its faint, constant humming completely.
Stephanie and I both noticed the sudden silence in the room. Our eyes met.
Whatever complicated, messy feelings I had about Kaden would just have to wait. I couldn’t afford to feel sorry for him, and I couldn’t afford to second-guess myself now.
This was why I was here. My child’s safety. My freedom.
I looked down at the small pendant resting tightly in my palm, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"Open it," Stephanie whispered, holding her breath.
I nodded and turned the locket over in my palm, examining it carefully. There was a faint seam running down the middle, separating the pendant into two halves. It definitely opened. I slipped my fingernail into the tiny gap and pulled. Nothing. I frowned and tried again, applying more pressure this time, but still nothing happened.
"What the hell?"
"Let me see." Stephanie reached for it.
"Wait." I adjusted my grip and tried pulling the two halves apart again. My fingers strained against the smooth metal, but the locket didn’t move even slightly. "It won’t open."
"What do you mean it won’t open?"
"I mean exactly that." I shoved it toward her. "Here. You try."
Stephanie took it from me and immediately dug her nails into the seam. She pulled, but nothing moved. She changed her grip and tried again, yet it stayed firmly shut. "This thing is ridiculously strong," she muttered.
"Maybe you’re doing it wrong."
Stephanie shot me an irritated look. "You couldn’t open it either."
"Give it back." She rolled her eyes but handed it over.
The moment the locket dropped into my palm, something rattled faintly from inside.
I froze, and Stephanie’s eyes widened. "Did you hear that?"
"Yes." My pulse immediately quickened. I lifted the locket beside my ear and shook it gently. Click. Click. There was definitely something loose inside—something small and metallic. My eyes slowly widened. "The pin."
Stephanie sucked in a breath. "You think that’s it?"
"It has to be." I shook the locket again. Click.
The choker around my neck suddenly gave a faint vibration—Hmmm. My heart nearly stopped.
Stephanie grabbed my arm. "Rebecca!"
"I felt it."
"Shake it again!"
I did. Click. Click.
HMMMM. This time, the choker heated slightly against my throat.
"Oh my Goddess," Stephanie breathed.
My fingers started trembling. "It really is in there." I couldn’t believe it. After everything I’d been through, the tiny pin capable of unlocking this damned choker was right inside my hand. I stared at the locket almost desperately. "Then we need to open it."
I attacked the seam again, pulling harder. Nothing.
"Damn it!"
Stephanie took it back and tried once more. She pressed against the sides, twisted it, and pulled at both halves, but the locket remained firmly sealed. "Why won’t this stupid thing open?"
"There has to be something we’re missing." I snatched it back, frustration beginning to overwhelm me. I examined every inch of the pendant—front, back, and sides. Nothing.
Then I noticed something. "Wait."
Stephanie leaned closer. "What?"
I turned the locket over. Near the bottom edge was a tiny hole, so tiny I hadn’t noticed it before. It looked almost decorative, blending perfectly into the intricate engraving surrounding the pendant. My heart sank. "Oh, shit."
"What?"
I lifted the locket closer to my face. There was no mistaking it now. "That isn’t decoration."
Stephanie frowned. "Then what is it?"
"A pinhole."
Her expression slowly changed. "What do you mean?"
I stared at her. "This locket doesn’t open by pulling it apart." I pointed toward the tiny hole. "Something has to go inside here first to release the lock."
Stephanie blinked, and then her mouth fell open. "Wait." She pointed at the locket. "Are you telling me the locket containing the pin for your choker... has its own key?"
I closed my eyes. "Shit."
"You’ve got to be kidding me."
I looked down at the tiny hole again. Of course it couldn’t be simple. Of fucking course. I finally got my hands on the locket containing the pin to my freedom, and now I needed another damn pin just to open the locket.
Stephanie dropped onto the edge of the bed. "Where the hell are we supposed to find that?"