Act I The bells began tolling while Claire was still standing in her wedding dress. Not walking. Not smiling. Not holding her husband’s hand. Standing. Alone. White petals clung to the gray carpet…

Act I The suitcase hit every porch step on the way down. Thud. Scrape. Thud. Clara Whitaker tried to lift it higher, but her fingers were numb from the cold and her wrist…

Act I The first slap landed on Maya Ellis’s cheek at 2:17 in the morning. It was soft, fast, and insulting. Maya did not wake up. The second slap landed harder. A striped…

Act I The wind at the cliff edge sounded like it wanted a confession. It tore across the gray stone, snapped at Helena Voss’s long black coat, and pushed strands of blonde hair…

Act I Rex had never been afraid of the kitchen. He had slept under the island during thunderstorms, stolen chicken from the counter with surgical precision, and once barked at the dishwasher for…

Act I The bucket rattled before the water fell. That was the first thing Emma heard. Not the bedroom door opening. Not the footsteps. Not the sharp breath of the people gathering in…

Act I Lily Hart stood in the middle of the gym like someone had forgotten to finish the picture. All around her, fathers spun their daughters beneath warm string lights. Pink, white, and…

Act I The hallway smelled like polished wood, expensive perfume, and fresh linen. Everything about the twenty-seventh floor of the Bellamy Grand was designed to make rich people feel untouchable. The carpet was…

Act I The dog yelped once, and the entire park seemed to stop breathing. It had been an ordinary gray afternoon in the city. Cold wind moved between the glass towers. Bare trees…