Mag-log inMARY'S POV:I turned around.Alistair stood in the doorway of the living room, his tie loosened, his shirt untucked, his eyes fixed on the oversized suit jacket draped across my shoulders. Behind him, the lamps cast long shadows across the floor. The half‑empty glass of whiskey on the side table. The evidence of a night spent waiting.He frowned as he looked toward the driveway, still visible through the open front door."Who was that?"I didn't answer. My fingers curled into the wool of Marl's coat, holding it closed.Behind Alistair, footsteps padded down the stairs. Light. Vesper stepped out, wearing a delicate slip dress, pale that caught the low light. Her dark hair fell loose around her shoulders, and her feet were bare. She looked like she had just woken up, or like she had never gone to sleep.Following his gaze, she smiled lightly."Maybe it was a friend she met at one of those parties," she said. "After all, the man was driving a Lamborghini Huracán." She tilted her head, he
MARY'S POV: I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. My throat was tight, my chest full of something that felt like gratitude and grief and a hundred other things I couldn't name. Marl leaned back in his seat, his posture relaxing slightly. "Besides," he said, "I've benefited from your talents too. Before I tasted your cooking, I had no idea there was a proper way to eat turkey." I laughed again. A real laugh this time, surprising myself. "You're lying." "I'm not. I used to think turkey was just... dry chicken. Then I had yours, and I understood what all the fuss was about." "That was three years ago. Thanksgiving. Alistair invited a bunch of people over." "I remember." His eyes met mine. "I asked him who catered the meal. He said he did. I knew he was lying, but I didn't push it. I figured it was someone close to him or his housekeeper, and either way, it wasn't my business." "And now?" "Now I know it was you. And I think you deserve more credit than you've ever
MARY'S POV:The gesture was meant to hide my expression, to give myself a moment to compose my thoughts. But the moment my palm touched my skin, something in me cracked and surprisingly, I didn't even have the energy to be heartbroken anymore.I was exhausted and I kept my hand over my face and breathed. In, out, in and out.The car was quiet once again and Marl didn't speak. He didn't reach for me. He didn't offer any empty platitudes or useless comfort. He just sat there, his hands on the steering wheel, his eyes on the road ahead, giving me the space I needed to fall apart.The silence stretched between us, long and heavy, filled with everything I couldn't say.When I finally lowered my hand, my face was wet. I hadn't noticed the tears falling. They had just come, the way rain comes, without warning or permission."Sorry," I whispered."You have nothing to apologize for.""I'm crying in your car and in your coat. I probably look insane."He glanced at me, and something flickered ac
MARY'S POV:The car pulled into my driveway, and the engine died, and for a long moment, neither of us moved.I sat in the passenger seat with my hands folded in my lap, staring at the dark windows of my house. The porch light was on, I had left it on, the morning that felt like a lifetime ago, before the strangers came and the cell and the fists.Marl's coat was still wrapped around my shoulders. I had forgotten I was wearing it. The fabric was heavy and warm, smelling of cedar and something clean and sharp, like winter air. It felt strange to be wearing a stranger's clothes. But then again, everything about tonight felt strange."I thought you were Alistair's friend," I said.My voice came out hoarse, scraped raw from crying and screaming and the cold air of the parking lot. I hadn't meant to say it out loud. The words just came, the way words do when you're too tired to filter them.Marl turned his head to look at me. The dashboard lights cast shadows across his face, sharpening hi
ALISTAIR'S POV:Helen blinked. "Her parents, sir?""Her parents. They live in… somewhere, I don't really remember anymore. Look it up."She hesitated, her fingers hovering over her tablet. "And what should I tell them about the charges?""Tell them the truth. She was arrested for assault. She's been behaving erratically. They need to come and take responsibility for her."Helen nodded slowly, making a note on her tablet. "I'll make the calls right away."She turned to leave, but before she could reach the door, another voice stopped her."There's no need to do that."I looked up.Vesper rose from the couch and walked toward my desk, her bare feet silent on the marble floor. After she had called me she had come to my office a few minutes later. And right now she had taken off her heels earlier, complaining that they hurt her feet. She looked soft and worried and beautiful, the way she always looked when she was concerned about someone."Vesper," I said. "You don't need to involve yours
ALISTAIR'S POV: "Alistair. Please. Elowen needs me. She's at your mother's house, and she's scared, and I need to be there for her." "Elowen is fine." "You don't know that. You haven't even checked on her." "I spoke to my mother an hour ago. She said Elowen was asleep." There was a pause. When Mary spoke again, her voice was quieter. "I don't understand what's happening to you. I don't understand why you're doing this." "I'm not doing anything. You're the one who got yourself arrested." "I got myself arrested? A man broke my window, Alistair. He was screaming at me in front of our daughter. And when I called the police for help, they arrested me instead." "Because you attacked him." "I didn't—" She stopped. I heard her take a breath. "You don't actually believe that. You can't." I didn't answer. "Alistair. Look at me. Listen to me. I am your wife. I am the mother of your child. And I am telling you that I did nothing wrong." I closed my eyes. For a moment, just a moment,
HANNAH'S POV:I inhaled sharply at the memory, and suddenly my chest tightened painfully. My breathing got faster and more shallow."Hannah?" Maya whispered from across the room, taking a tentative step forward. "Babygirl, it's okay. You're safe now. We're all here with you."But it wasn't okay. Be
ELIJAH'S POV:The image of her face flashed behind my eyelids. Her soft smile that always made everything better. The way her eyes crinkled at the corners when she laughed at one of my terrible jokes. The way she looked at me sometimes, like I was the safest thing in her entire world.And I had fai
ELIJAH'S POV:He looked at me for a long moment with those serious eyes that were so much like Hannah's. Then he nodded slowly.I pulled him into a tight hug and kissed the top of his head. "I'm going to bring your mom home. I promise you.""You better," he whispered against my chest.Within minute
3RD POV: THAT SAME EVENING:While Elijah was debating on whether to cross over the piece of ceiling that was now obstructing his way from going into where Hannah was, knowing the house was burning so fast. Outside, the fire department had arrived as well as Mr Waltson, Lucas, Jacob and Martin.As







