Grace Ryan stood at her living room window, watching Collins' car disappear down the tree-lined street. The afternoon sun cast long shadows across her manicured lawn, but she barely noticed the beauty of the day. Her mind was consumed by the weight of what lay ahead.
She moved slowly to her favorite armchair, the one where she'd spent countless hours over the past months wrestling with the decision to keep the truth from Nora. The newspaper article Collins had read aloud still echoed in her ears, each word a reminder of how close they were to having their carefully guarded secret exposed in the worst possible way.
Grace picked up the framed photograph from the side table-the one of Robert holding five-year-old Nora on his shoulders at the beach. They were both laughing, completely carefr
