The pounding at the door came again. Three hard knocks.Then silence.The kind of silence that felt deliberate.Everyone in the living room froze for half a second before instinct took over.Johnny moved first.Grace rose immediately after him.“No,” he said, turning toward her. “Stay with the baby.”“She’s upstairs asleep.”“Then stay close.”His tone was calm, but it carried steel.Grace stopped.Jackson was already at the window, shifting the curtain slightly.“Richard,” he said.Then after a pause:“His mother.”Anita stiffened in her seat.“And two officers.”Johnny let out a slow breath.“Perfect.”He opened the door.The EntranceRichard stood straight-backed in a dark suit, as if he were attending a business meeting instead of invading someone’s home.Beside him was a woman in elegant cream-colored clothing, pearls at her neck, expensive handbag in hand, posture rigid enough to cut glass.Her eyes moved past Johnny immediately.Assessing the house.The walls.The furniture.T
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