Now the evidence was in front of her.
Victoria picked up a sealed envelope.
"May I open this?"
Margaret nodded.
Inside was a letter signed by Arthur Harrington, dated several months after the workshop fire.
Victoria read it silently, then handed it to Daniel Foster.
The letter acknowledged that Daniel had never completed a sale of the diamond. It also referred to an unnamed individual who had instructed Arthur to obtain the stone and ensure that its original ownership records disappeared.
Margaret felt a cold sensation move through her chest.
"Who was that person?"
Victoria shook her head.
"I don't know."
Leonard examined the remaining pages.
"There's a name here," he said.
Everyone turned toward him.
He pointed to an entry near the back of the ledger.
The name belonged to a wealthy European financier who had died in 1951. His descendants had later donated a large collection of jewelry to Richard Caldwell's private museum.
Margaret stared at the page.
The theft had not ended with Arthur Harrington.
Someone else had been involved, and the evidence suggested that the consequences had continued long after the diamond disappeared.
Victoria looked at the letter again.
"If this is authentic, my family may have profited from a crime."
Margaret slowly rose to her feet.
"Then we must establish the truth."
Outside, the afternoon light faded behind the trees.
Inside the archive, the four of them continued examining the records, unaware that someone had been watching the estate from a parked car across the street.
Richard Caldwell had received word that Margaret and Victoria were searching the archive.
He had expected them to find old correspondence.
He had not expected them to discover Daniel Ellis's original ledger.
When his associate called with the news, Richard's expression changed.
"Are you certain?" he asked.
"Yes. They found a sealed box beneath the floorboards."
Richard ended the call and stared at the city beyond his office window.
For decades, the Star of Aurelia had been admired as a masterpiece of historical jewelry.
Now its history threatened to expose a secret that powerful people had worked hard to conceal.
And Richard Caldwell knew that if the original records became public, the diamond would be the least of his problems.
The archive remained open long after sunset.
A portable lamp illuminated the table where the recovered documents had been arranged. Leonard Price wore cotton gloves while examining the ledgers, and Daniel Foster carefully recorded each item before placing it into protective sleeves.
Margaret sat opposite Victoria, holding a photograph of her father's workshop.
The image showed a narrow brick building with a wooden sign above the entrance. Daniel stood in the doorway, wearing a white work apron, while a younger Margaret sat on the front steps.
She had not seen the photograph in decades.
Her father had been smiling.
It was a simple expression, but it reminded her of a time before the fire, before the accusations, before poverty and grief had consumed their family.