Joy was in her hands, but the past still had claws.

——

Lily’s POV

Mr. Mark hadn’t looked at me once. His eyes were fixed on the road, unblinking, like he was afraid to see anything else.

The silence between us was thick and heavy, not awkward, not cold but the kind of quiet that carried grief. We’d just left the cemetery. I didn’t ask questions. I didn’t offer any words. His only daughter was buried in the earth behind us, and no small talk in the world could touch that kind of pain.

Whatever killed her, it wasn’t natural. I could feel that truth, even if I didn’t know...