CLAIRE

I stared at my phone long after the call ended, Patricia’s last words still ringing in my head, a deal that involved you. My fingers tightened around the phone without me realizing it, my father made a deal. With Ethan’s father, before I even got married.

That didn’t make sense… or maybe it did. A cold feeling crept into my chest, slow and heavy, like something I didn’t want to name yet.

I pushed myself off the couch and started pacing, my bare feet brushing against the rug as I moved back and forth.

“No,” I muttered under my breath, shaking my head. “No, he wouldn’t…”

But the words...