Chapter 8 - The Ring
Marianne’s wedding ring had never been lost in the accident.
Pregnancy swelling had made it uncomfortable.
She left it at home the morning she disappeared.
After the search ended, I put it in a walnut box with several personal items.
Hospital bracelet from Melusine’s birth.
A handwritten recipe.
Two photographs.
The ring.
I locked the box.
Sabine knew it existed.
I once showed her the outside.
Never invited her to open it.
During one of Marianne’s visits, she asked Sabine:
“Did Rainier keep anything?”
“Yes.”
“My ring?”
Sabine did not know.
Marianne said:
“If he kept the ring, maybe he didn’t forget me.”
That sentence should have broken Sabine’s resolve.
Instead it gave her another task.
I traveled to Chicago for three nights.
Sabine had authorized access to the house.
She opened my bedroom cabinet.
Found the walnut box.
The key was in a separate drawer.
She took Marianne’s wedding ring.
Brought it to Pennsylvania.
Marianne cried when she saw it.
“He kept it.”
“Yes.”
“Please take it back to him.”
Sabine put the ring in her purse.
She never returned it.
For seven months she kept it hidden.
Three days before our wedding, stylists and wedding staff began entering the house.
Sabine feared someone might find it.
She placed it on a thin chain.
Wore it under her clothing.
On the wedding day the chain slipped above the neckline.
Melusine recognized the ring.
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A five-year-old saw the object adults had spent months hiding.
Secrets are often exposed by people who do not understand why they are dangerous.
