My chest tightened.
I whispered,
“Is that your baby?”
Sarah looked at me.
“My baby?”
I flinched.
“I didn’t mean—”
“Mom, there’s so much you don’t know about your husband.”
Everything inside me went still.
The room suddenly felt cold.
Sarah adjusted the baby carefully against her chest.
Then she whispered,
“You need to know the whole truth before he gets home.”
My name is Linda Carter.
I was forty-six years old.
For twenty-two years, I had been married to Kevin Carter.
And until the day Sarah returned, I believed I understood the worst thing my husband had ever done.
I thought it was forcing our daughter out.
I was wrong.
Sarah was my only child.
She had always been bright.
Loud.
Funny.
Stubborn.
She sang badly while washing dishes.
She wore bright socks that never matched.
She had a habit of laughing so hard she snorted.
Kevin hated that.
At first, I thought he was simply strict.
He had always been particular.
Shoes lined up by the door.
Lights turned off.
Dishes put away immediately.
No loud music after nine.
