The shrill, vindictive laughter of Rebecca Lacy pierced the crisp evening air, sharp as a serrated glass shard. To Sarah Lacy, however, that malicious sound seemed to originate from miles away, muffled by the sudden, roaring rush of blood in her ears. She stood frozen in the center of the driveway, her senses besieged by an overwhelming, suffocating darkness. It felt as though the very tectonic plates of her reality had shifted, sending the sky crashing down upon her slender shoulders in a cataclysm of despair. The world spun in a nauseating blur of distorted lights and lengthening shadows, threatening to pull her into a void.
She stared at the man cowering before her on the cold pavement―her father, Billy Lacy―with eyes wide, swimming in a pool of disbelief and mounting horror. The man w
