SHARED CONFESSION
That was how it started with the man next door.
His name was Grant. Forty-one. Married. Broad-shouldered, quiet, the kind of neighbor who offered to help carry boxes and then stayed for a beer on the porch. His wife, Nadia, worked long hours at the hospital and came home after dark most nights. Grant had mentioned it once, casually, like it didn’t matter.
It had mattered.
For three weeks they had been careful. His place when Nadia was on nights. Her place when he could slip away for an hour. Never long enough. Never loud enough. Always the same sharp, almost angry hunger, like both of them were trying to outrun something.