ront door of the row house in Astoria. Stale

're

he was painting her toenails on the coffee table. "Di

scrolling on her phone. She eyed Anaya's Balenciaga

heels clicking on the linole

liner. The TV was blaring a horse racing ch

tethered to this sinking ship for a decade. Pity was why she had almost been

back to the

ess card. "Tony said if you go to dinner with him, he might wai

he looked at it. Tony'

d Tony's hands under the table. She reme

Then in quarters. She let the

reeched. "You un

nto the coffee table. Th

ugh the room like a knife. "I am signing over my half of the ho

nstantly replaced anger. "You.

and Severance of Familial Ties. It wasn't a standard legal form, but it w

sneered. "We can just take the h

ne. She tapped the scree

l's signature on the insurance policy. If he dr

face we

uture. But in this timeline, she knew exactly where Brenda kept her diary deta

bluffing with the truth of the future. "Sign the paper. Or

oom. "Anaya? Is that my gir

ward his voice. That

Her hands were shaking.

checked the signature,

njoy the house. The bank is for

alked

Brenda scream

o the sidewalk. The Q

taxi. "New Jersey," she told t

e, her phone buzzed. A notif

rd ending in 4490 has been froz

her money. He thought that w

ulled out the black Amex Centurion c

ind whipped her hair. Below, the

ater. He thinks this is his power over me, she thought with cold satisfaction. He has no idea about the cry

e knowledge of the next three years o

ed to di