A Wealthy Matron Faints After Recognizing the Jade Pendant on Her Young Server

The Secrets of the Past

The ballroom erupted into a frenzy of shouting and rushing footsteps. Security guards and paramedics were called immediately, while Sarah stood frozen in place, her heart hammering against her ribs. Within minutes, Eleanor was revived and insisted on being taken to a private study upstairs, refusing to go to the hospital. To everyone's shock, her only demand was that Sarah accompany her.

In the quiet, wood-paneled study, Eleanor sat on a velvet sofa, her hands shaking as she held a glass of water. Sarah stood near the door, clutching her apron, feeling out of place in the luxurious room. Eleanor looked up, her eyes red-rimmed with tears, and gestured for Sarah to sit beside her.

"Please, child, sit down," Eleanor pleaded, her usual haughty demeanor completely gone. "I need to know. Your mother, Marion... where is she? How did you come to possess that jade pendant?"

Sarah sat down cautiously. "My mother passed away three years ago from illness," she said softly. "She gave me this pendant on her deathbed. She told me it was the only piece of her past she had left, but she never explained what that meant. She raised me alone, working two jobs just to keep a roof over our heads."

A choked sob escaped Eleanor's throat. She reached out and gently touched the jade pendant around Sarah's neck. "I bought this pendant in Hong Kong forty years ago," Eleanor whispered, tears finally spilling over her cheeks. "I gave it to my only daughter, Marion, on her eighteenth birthday. She was the light of my life."

Sarah’s breath caught in her throat. "Your daughter? But my mother's last name was Calder."

"Because she changed it," Eleanor explained bitterly. "We had a terrible fight. She fell in love with a young artist from a poor family. I was cruel, arrogant, and obsessed with our family's social standing. I threatened to disown her if she didn't leave him. I thought she would bend to my will. Instead, she packed her bags, changed her name, and vanished into the night. I spent twenty years searching for her, but she had erased her past completely."