The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1053

Charlotte looked down, her fingers brushing over the faded cover of an old medical book written in Arabic. Her voice was quiet, weighed down. “There was a carnelian bracelet, but…”

Nora’s eyes were soft with concern. “What happened to it?”

“The clasp just came loose all of a sudden… and it slipped off. I didn’t even notice.” Charlotte remembered how she’d been wearing three bracelets that day. After washing her hands, she’d checked to make sure they were all still there. Maybe she’d shaken it off without realizing when she turned to fix her clothes.

It wasn’t exactly valuable, but it wasn’t cheap, either. It hadn’t shown up for sale anywhere, so it was probably either tossed in the trash or forgotten in some corner.

“That bracelet really did belong to your grandmother.” Nora saw the disappointment on Charlotte’s face and gently took her hand. “I wore it for years, and there was never anything strange about it.”

So maybe there was nothing hidden inside after all.

Charlotte set the old book down and picked up a delicate enamel necklace, her eyes narrowing in thought. She remembered Rena had recently paid a fortune for a nearly identical carnelian bracelet. Even after offering millions, the seller still refused to part with it.

Rena might be clueless, but Aloys definitely wasn’t. He wouldn’t obsess over a bracelet unless it mattered for something big.

Charlotte took a breath and pushed her questions aside. “Don't worry about the bracelet, Mom. I’ll figure it out. You just rest and focus on getting better.” She helped Nora settle into bed and tucked the blanket around her.

Just as she was leaving, Nora called out, “Lottie.”

Charlotte paused and turned back.

Nora hesitated, tugging at her hair, her voice a little awkward. “I can see Anthony cares about you a lot. He’s a good man, someone you could build a life with… but…”

The door closed behind her. The smile faded from Nora’s face, replaced by a deep loneliness. Lottie was so beautiful—her child would be even more beautiful. But Nora didn’t know if she’d ever get the chance to see that day.

After a long moment, Nora reached under her pillow for her iPad. She pulled up the genetics institute’s website. They’d tried hacking her system again and again, desperate to trace her location.

Nora’s lips curled into a cool, determined smile. Her fingers flew across the keyboard. In seconds, their hacking system went down in a counterattack.

On the other side, the institute’s hackers could only stare at their screens in shock.

Before they could react, a message popped up in bold letters. My time is almost up. Yours is running out, too.