My daughter, Ava, just turned ten, and for almost a year she had been saving every penny she could get her hands on. Birthday money from her grandma, quarters from helping me with laundry and cleaning the kitchen counters, and even a crumpled five-dollar bill she found in the grocery store parking lot (and insisted on keeping).

Every coin, every dollar, all went into the little floral purse she tucked under her pillow each night.

All of it was for one thing in particular: a charm bracelet from a boutique downtown. It wasn’t just any bracelet, though. It was a delicate silver one with small animal charms that you could collect one by one.

“I want the fox, Mom,” Ava told me the first time we saw the bracelet. “And then the owl, and a dolphin. And a poodle!”

“We’ll get them all, baby,” I told her.

Every Saturday morning when we walked past that store window during our grocery run, her eyes would light up like it was the first time she’d seen it.

I remember one weekend in early spring, she and I stood in front of the shop as the breeze tugged at her ponytail. Her nose was practically pressed to the glass.

“Mom, when I have enough money,” she said, “I’ll buy it myself. And then every birthday or Christmas, I’ll ask for a new charm. Okay? Deal?”

“That’s a deal, Ava,” I agreed.

I had smiled, watching her trace the shape of a tiny cat charm with her finger.

“Never mind the fox, Mom,” she said. “That one will be the first. It reminds me of the one I drew on that five-dollar bill. The one I found by the cart return.”

She was so proud. So determined. And she never once asked me to help her buy it. My girl wanted to do it herself.

Last weekend, I hosted my birthday party at our house. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a backyard gathering with folding chairs, lots of food, water balloons for the kids, and a cooler full of sparkling water and boxed wine.

Friends and family came by, drifting through the house and garden as the late afternoon sun began to settle.

Chloe, my sister-in-law, swept in fashionably late, as always. Her hair was styled like she had a team behind it, her heels loud and glossy, and her oversized sunglasses perched on her head even as the sun dipped lower.

She looked like she’d come for a red carpet instead of a backyard get-together.

“Happy birthday, Janine,” she said, leaning in to air-kiss both sides of my face. “You look… cozy. Aren’t you the star of this show?”

That was Chloe’s way of saying I looked underdressed.

“Thanks,” I replied, forcing a smile. “I’m glad you could make it.”

The kids were playing in the yard. They were enjoying the water balloons, sidewalk chalk that Ava brought out, and the candyfloss machine.

Squeals of laughter floated in through the open windows.

Ava had been clutching her purse tightly all afternoon, the little floral one she guarded like treasure. But at some point, she must have felt safe enough to set it down in her room upstairs.

I remember noticing it was gone from her shoulder.

“Good. She’s finally letting herself enjoy the party,” I muttered to myself. “Or maybe she left it inside while grabbing more chalk.”

I was in the middle of half-listening to my friend, Kelly, talk about granite countertops, something about veins versus flecks, when I saw Ava walking toward me.

She wasn’t just walking, she was marching. Her shoulders were stiff, her jaw set, and the purse was clutched to her like armor.

“Mom,” she whispered, wide-eyed. “Something’s wrong. Can we talk? Now?”

“Of course, baby. What’s going on?” I asked, concern curled in my stomach.

“I think Aunt Chloe took my money,” she said, glancing toward the house.

“What? Ava, what do you mean she took it?” I asked, my heart sinking.

“She was in my room, Mom! When I went back just now, all the cash was gone. Every single dollar! And Aunt Chloe was in there. She was holding it!” Ava said, clutching my arm.

I stared at her, the weight of her words settling slowly. My heart thudded once, hard.

“You’re sure?” I asked. “Ava, I need you to be certain before I say anything.”

“She looked surprised when she saw me,” she said. “She jumped a little and said she was looking for some hand lotion. But she set the purse down really fast. Like… she got caught.”

“There’s plenty of hand lotion in the guest bathroom,” I muttered, the suspicion settling deeper.

My mouth went dry. I knew Chloe could be careless. She was the type who showed up late, forgot birthdays, and borrowed things she never returned.

But this? Taking money from a child? My child?

Still, I needed to be sure before I did anything.