Fate Without Time

Chapter 41

Alissa's POV

Three days later

Recovering from my encounter with Moriarty was a real struggle. Lucky for me, Mycroft was there to help me through it. But I couldn't help but notice that he was nervous about something. What was weirder was that when I woke up one morning, I saw the necklace that my mother gave me when she died on the nightstand. I didn't ask him about until I fully regained my sanity, allowing me to determine that my observations were definitely real.

When I finally approached Mycroft, I made sure to bring the necklace with me. He was standing by the window that day, just watching the storm rage outside. "You've been nervous about something ever since Sherlock brought me here. What is going on? And does it have anything to do with this?" I asked as I held up my necklace. Mycroft turned around to face me. "As a matter of fact, it does. Did your mother ever tell you the story behind that necklace?" he asked. "I asked her several times, but she never told me. She said it hurt too much," I said. Mycroft sighed. "What if I told you that I knew the story behind it?" he asked. I was a little confused. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Mycroft motioned for me to give the necklace to him, which I did. "You may think that the date on the front of this necklace is just a random date, but it's not. Everything on this necklace is on there for a reason," he said. "Tell me, please. It's the one mystery I've never been able to solve," I said. Mycroft took a deep breath before proceeding. "June 20, 1990 was the day of your mother's wedding. This necklace was given to her on June 20, 1991. Her 1 year wedding anniversary," he said. I was shocked, but wanted to know more. "How do you know all of this?" I asked. He returned the necklace to me "Look at the writing on the back. And I mean really look at it," he said. I studied the words for what seemed like the millionth time:

I once believed that

love was a weakness.

That is a lie. Love

makes me stronger,

because I love

you.

At first, I didn't know what Mycroft meant, but then I read the first sentence again:

I once believed that

love was a weakness.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "Mycroft, what is going on?" I asked. He got out his phone, scrolling through text messages until he found the right one. "I assume you remember when Moriarty took a sample of your blood while you were his prisoner?" he asked. I nodded. "Well, he gave that exact blood sample to us, free from any tampering. Sherlock analyzed the blood while I was looking after you, and he sent me a photo of the results," he said as he showed me the photo: