ora
ports car faded into t
ng windows. I yanked the heavy blackout cur
y handbag, I pulled out a thick, unm
entering a dynamic, rotating passco
against the Lake Michigan shore filled my ear,
am
eet five-year-ol
built around my heart cracked. A sharp ache seize
d, forcing my voice to stay ste
perceptive. "You sound sad, Mama." A loud kissi
too, baby,"
go look at the stars through the telesco
tantly. "What happen
e down with Darrel today and the arrogan
ge hissed. "Thank god we hid Eliza.
t," I said. "Is the
," Paig
iped the moistu
are-foot master closet. I hit the switch. A massive crystal chandelie
silk gown-Darrel's favorite
ses, skirts, and blouses off their velvet han
nst the hardwood. The closet looke
nylon suitcase. Unzipping it, I threw in three pairs of faded s
encrypted solid-state module. I carefully slid the biometric-locked hardware into the hidden, padded lining of my suitcase. That tiny piece of
ll. Seven years of marriage, and th
n. My long, perfectly styled dark hair hung down my back-exa
I pulled out a pair
a fistful of hair at the nape of my
r fell onto the pristin
new, jagged bob
ement ring off my finger and tos
oor with a sharp clink a
my suitcase and walked o
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