I cried in my husband’s arms at the airport as he boarded what he claimed was a two-year work assignment in Zurich.

Not even Palm Springs directly.

San Diego.

“He had a connection,” she continued. “A private car booked from there. Palm Springs by evening.”

I tightened my grip on the phone. “How do you know that?”

“Because I’ve been following his arrangements for six weeks.”

The room seemed suddenly smaller.

I looked at the laptop again. The bank screen had dimmed. The confirmation button was still there, waiting like a trap.

“Grace,” I said slowly, “you have about ten seconds to explain why I shouldn’t call the police.”

“You probably should,” she said. “Eventually.”

“Eventually?”

“Not before you look in your safe.”

My eyes shifted toward the hallway.

We had a safe in the back of the coat closet. Fireproof, heavy, bolted into the floor. Lucas kept passports there, insurance documents, property papers, birth certificates. I hadn’t opened it in months.

“What’s in my safe?”

“That depends on what he removed.”

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