the bedroom floor. Arlene stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection. The woman looking back at

ple marks. She blended it in until her skin looked fla

was stiff, unfamiliar. It felt like a shroud. She buttoned th

in the foyer. He was also dressed in black, his suit shar

ut his arm. It wasn't a gesture

t the front door. The Bentley was idling in th

es of Long Island's gold coast. Arlene stared out the window, watching the scenery blur

" she said, her voice cutting through the quiet h

, his profile carved from stone. "I haven't agreed to anyt

ard. "The prenuptial agreement clearly states that after

el smile touched his lips. "The agreement?" he repeated, savoring the word.

otten. In the chaos of the diagnosis, the pregnancy, the escape attem

Parker family goes right back to where they were three years ago. Only worse.

She had sacrificed herself to save them. If she pushed h

, his eyes boring into hers, "

c taste filled her mouth, a familiar sting. She was trap

, flanked by stone pillars. The driver stopped, punching a code into the ke

cemetery. He had brou

sing monument. It was an angel, its wings folded, its face turned up t

the car and opened hers, standing aside. The wind whipped t

the soft ground. She wrapped her arms aroun

in front of it, his back to her. He stood t

yes were hard, his jaw

word hung in the air, obsc

er is lying here because the Parkers betrayed him. You

old, in front of the grave of the man who had started this cycle of h

. Kneeling on the cold, hard ground would put pressur

k he is," she said, her voice shaking but firm. "He wouldn't betr

time she had ever directly challenged his narrative. The first

sement vanished, replaced by something fa

shot out, grabbing her wrist. His fingers dug into the brui

son wasn't enough," he snarl

ep into the turf like anchors. The soft ground offered no purchase, and he had to practical

el, one way or another. The cold granite of the headsto