eft early, murmuring something about needing to go to the office to handle the "press

life cut short. She started with the bookshelf. She ran her fingers over the spines of his favori

inside. Then the dinosaur figurines he'd spent hours arranging into epic battles.

n, as he read a book about sharks. Her heart should have been breaking. Instead, it felt like she was packing away

st summer. Benedict was holding a giggling Leo on his shoulders. Aliyah stood beside them, her arm ar

st, most perfect

rs. For a moment, she saw the woman in the photo. The trustin

d out of Leo's room, through the silent house,

ces one last time. Then, she let it go. It landed with a dul

thing sticky. She pulled the frame out, turned it over

The man who had held her and lied. The

. Then she tore his half into smaller and smaller pieces, until his face was just a co

her and her son, but she stopped. She couldn't. Not yet

l returned alone. She was ca

idn't seem to notice the packed bins lining the hallway. "Ben f

e doorway. Kendall began unpacking her bags, pulling out new clothes, new shoes. She opened

said, holding a silk blouse up to herself in

ing her territor

ll bottle in her hand. "He wanted me to give you this

ct wanted her numb. He wanted her quiet an

refusing. About screaming. But that wasn't the plan. The plan required her t

The plastic was smooth in her palm.

, her voice flat. "That'

iumphant pity in her eyes. "

g on Leo's watch again. All of it this time. She listened to her son beg. She listened to

around her heart. The physical pain of it, the way her chest s

ed it for wh