“So… can I call you Mom?” The question was so simple that it nearly broke me. I crouched slowly until I was at Liam’s height. Up close,…

Adrian stared at me as though he no longer recognized the woman standing in front of him. Maybe he didn’t. For years, whenever his name appeared in…

My mother’s smile disappeared. My father slowly lowered his phone. And Derek— Derek simply stared at me. For one second, I was thirty years old again, standing…

The door closed. For several seconds, nobody moved. Then Noah tugged on my sweater. “Mom?” I looked down. His dark eyes were wide. “Who was that man?”…

My father immediately stepped in front of me. “How do you know my daughter’s name?” Adrian Crowe did not answer him. His eyes remained fixed on me….

I looked at my passport. Then at Adrián. “Well…” I lifted it. “It seems someone is going to South Africa.” Adrián took the passport from my hand….

Ethan Harrison stared at my phone. Then at his. Then back at me. “Emma…” His voice had gone strangely quiet. “Why do I have your number saved…

“Then why do I keep looking at the door?” The thought reached me so clearly that I stopped packing. Alejandro was miles away. And yet his voice…

Bianca’s smile faded. Adrian stepped closer to her automatically, as though even now his first instinct was to shield her from me. I looked at them both….