Chapter 1 - The Return in the Storm
Thomas Moore did not yell. He did not curse. He simply stood up from the kitchen table, walked to the hall closet, and pulled out a heavy, dark wool suit he usually reserved for board meetings and funerals.
"Put Ava in the travel crib," Thomas instructed, his voice an unsettling, absolute calm. "Mrs. Higgins next door is coming over to sit with her. You and I are going for a drive."
Natalie pulled her mother's cream sweater tighter around her shoulders. "Dad, where are we going? I don't want to go back there."
"You aren't going back to stay, Natalie," Thomas said, tightening his silk tie in the mirror. "You are going back to collect what is yours, and to take out the trash."
Twenty minutes later, leaving a sleeping Ava in the safe, warm care of their trusted neighbor, Thomas and Natalie drove through the freezing, relentless rain. The drive back to the house Natalie had shared with Daniel was silent. Thomas didn't play the radio. He just gripped the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the road, radiating the quiet, terrifying energy of a storm about to break.
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When they pulled up to the driveway, Daniel’s BMW and a sleek red sports car were parked out front. Through the bay windows, the glow of the Christmas tree and the warm fire mocked the freezing temperatures outside.
Thomas didn't knock. He still had the spare key Daniel had given him years ago. He turned it in the lock, and the heavy oak door swung open.
