Felix walked with renewed confidence through the designer flagships, past private viewing rooms and velvet-roped displays, until they reached a large open atrium at the center of the floor.
The space was roughly thirty square meters, cordoned off by crimson ropes and monitored by a uniformed security guard who stood at relaxed attention. In the very center, elevated on a slim glass pedestal and illuminated by a single focused spotlight, was a necklace.
Stan saw Sophie's breath catch.
It was, by any honest measure, extraordinary. The piece was a cascade of diamonds and sapphires set in white gold, each stone catching the overhead light and fracturing it into a thousand tiny prisms. The design was architectural, precise, balanced, almost mathematical in its elegance, but the effect was purely emotional. It didn't just catch the eye. It held it.
"So beautiful," Sophie whispered, almost to herself.
