“Yes, why did someone contribute just a pen? What’s going on?”
Puzzled voices filled the air as the emcee began to sweat.
“We’ll verify the details. Please, everyone, settle down!”
Jalen looked at Hannah, visibly surprised.
“I told the staff outside that you could walk right in if you gave them your name. Why did they ask for a donation from you?”
Before Hannah could reply, Bainbridge interjected scornfully, “If you had nothing worthy to donate, you could’ve at least avoided offering them a worthless pen and claiming it’s worth 500 thousand! Don’t you understand how humiliating that is?”
Already annoyed with Hannah, Bainbridge’s disdain only grew.
“If you couldn’t contribute something valuable, why didn’t you inform Jalen?
You’ve brought shame upon the White family!”
Jalen found himself at a loss for words but came to Hannah’s defense.
“Ease up, Bainbridge. I don’t think she intended for this to happen.”
“I suppose she was trying to save face and never anticipated the emcee would announce her donation Like that.” Growing more impatient, Bainbridge snapped, “I knew we shouldn’t have allowed her to attend.
She’s only tarnished the White family’s reputation!”
“If I’m such an embarrassment, why was I invited in the first place?”
Hannah retorted.
She then glanced at the pen in the emcee’s hand and continued, “Others may not know the significance of that pen, but surely you remember its origins, don’t you, Jalen?”
Jalen was briefly shocked, his eyes locked onto the diamond-studded pen that the host showcased on the stage.
The pen had originally been a gift from Byrum White to Hannah Moore’s mother, a treasure brought back from a far-off journey to England.
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Crafted from pure platinum, the pen was a dazzling masterpiece, encrusted with a mix of white and blue diamonds and emeralds. It boasted over 85@ diamonds, two of which were larger than 20 carats each.
It had been a symbol of Byrum’s deep love for his daughter. But after a cascade of unfortunate circumstances, the pen ended up with Hannah.
Years later, when Hannah left her family home, she could take very little with her. This pen, a keepsake from her mother, was one of the few items she managed to smuggle out.
“The pen is.” Jalen appeared somewhat disoriented.
He had a flashback. He was just 11 when his grandfather had first shown him the pen.
Bainbridge, observing Jalen’s distracted expression, looked at the pen skeptically.