said grimly. “Thomas died overseas three years ago. But think about who Thomas was seeing before his final deployment.”
The puzzle pieces violently clicked into place. Thomas had spent his last months dating Vanessa, Claire’s youngest sister. After Thomas’s convoy was hit outside Erbil, Vanessa vanished from family gatherings for nearly a year, claiming she had moved to Portland to study interior design.
“Vanessa had a baby,” I whispered.
“Worse,” Marcus replied, gesturing toward the front door. “Follow me.”
As we crossed the threshold, the silence in our home was suffocating. Two patrol officers stood by the staircase, while Patricia, Claire, and her three sisters sat huddled on the living room sofa under the watchful eye of Sergeant Miller. Vanessa looked pale as a ghost, staring at the floorboards, while Patricia was furiously arguing that this was an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
“Daniel!” Claire gasped, springing up from the couch
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