The Price Of Love, A Life Reclaimed

ghai. She kissed my scarred cheek at the door, he

r voice smooth as silk. "Dr. Chen sa

smile. "I'll be fine. J

from my face. The house was a silent, sprawling cage

ght. She always said she wanted to give me space to heal. Now I knew the

eap paperback I was reading. It was a way to tell myself I was leaving. As I opened the draw

w exactly who it belonged to. Mark Johnson had worn them at his wedding to Chloe. I re

er me. He had been here. I

ss of her own technology. Smart systems, integrated security. She had taught me how to use the basic interface, thi

was locked down with biometric security I couldn't bypass. But the central server fo

I bypassed her personal firewalls and accessed the archive. I didn't search for the day of Leo's

ago, a night she told me she

era angle was from the corne

Johnson followed her. He closed the door, and she turned and wrapped her arms ar

pposed to be healing in. The sounds were muffled, but the images were brutally clear.

s their

with an obsessive adoration that she never once showed me. They were celebrating s

" Mark was saying, stroking her hair. "

Sophia murmured. "Everythi

en-year-old boy. The plan that destroyed my family.

body in the pit. My father's broken voice on the phone. My mother weeping as the bank repossessed ou

l a lie. A carefully constructed stage for their sick romance. My e

an a prop. A tool to

The front gate. I looked at the securit

oman got out, her face a famil

mother. And she was walki