Chapter 3

I was raised in an orphanage until I aged out of the system. So that part, at least, was true.

I didn't want to believe the medium. I didn't want a divorce. But for Devin's sake, I rented a small apartment near the office.

"Do you really have to go this far? Don't let his words get to you. We've made it ten years together..."

"That's enough." I cut him off. "I'm going in. You should go home."

I got out of the car before he could say another word to shake my resolve.

"Just call often, okay? I'll bring Devin to see you."

Before entering the apartment complex, I couldn't help myself and glanced back.

The rear window was down. Devin sat in the backseat, his eyes red and swollen. When he saw me looking, he turned his face away.

I knew my stubborn little boy had a soft heart.

I hurried inside the apartment.

I actually slept through the night in the rental. My phone rang just after I opened my eyes. Devin called me on Rod's phone.

"Mom, come home!" His voice was bright, hopeful. "I just figured it out. Zoe's been crawling into your closet! He must've tangled all your clothes!"

My heart softened despite everything.

Zoe was the neighbor's hairless cat, and Devin adored him, bringing him over from time to time. Maybe the cat really was the culprit.

"Okay, sweetie. I'll be home after work."

"Not bad. Keep it up." Colin's voice came from directly behind me. Thank God I'd actually been working this time.

At lunch, a coworker leaned across the table. "Everything okay at home, Penny? You looked so down the past few days, but today you're practically glowing."

"It's nothing," I said, but deep inside, I was so relieved.

If the cat had caused the mess of the clothes, it wouldn't be long before I uncovered the root of all that happened to me.

After work, I ran into my neighbor, Elvira Yerkes, in the hallway, so I asked casually if Zoe was around.

"Oh, he's been gone for days. My daughter took him to her grandpa's place in the countryside."

All the strength drained from my body. I couldn't help but lean against the wall for support.

Zoe had been gone for three days. But my clothes had been tangled into a knotted mess in his absence.

It wasn't the right time for me to return home.

"Penny! Oh my God, Penny — I've been looking everywhere for you!"

A woman in her fifties rushed toward me, grabbing my arm. A man about the same age stood behind her.

"You've got the wrong person." Not in the mood, I tried to pull free.

"No — you're my daughter!" She yanked my sleeve up past my elbow. "You were born with a small growth right here. Your father fought with the doctors just to get it removed when you were a baby!"

Some of the tension left my expression despite myself.

"Sweetheart, we searched for so long to find you. Can we go somewhere and talk?"

She said it while pressing the back of her hand to her cheek — yet not a single tear glistened there.

I brought them back to the apartment and got them some water.

"I thought we were close to your house. Why did you bring us here?"

I didn't answer. I just wanted to know why they'd really come.

"Listen," the woman said, setting down her cup with a sharp clink. "We need to be honest with you. Your father's been sick. The hospital bills have wiped us out completely. We're in serious debt — close to twenty thousand dollars — and we have no way to cover it."

She leaned forward, her voice softening into something practiced and rehearsed. "You're family. You're the only one who can help us right now."

"Get out."

I grabbed a mop from the corner and advanced on them both.

I was six or seven when I got lost, old enough to remember what things were really like.

One day, Dad came home drunk, same as always. Mom couldn't take it anymore and dragged me to a grocery store, planning to grab a few things before catching a bus out of town.

But the store was packed, and in the chaos, I was separated from her.

I wasn't sure she ever looked for me. I ended up in the foster system and eventually aged out of an orphanage.

And now, after all these years, the first thing out of her mouth wasn't how I'd survived or where I'd been. It was a number — a debt she expected me to pay.

No way I'd grant her wish.

Rod should have been home by now. I needed to see him, to pour out everything.

I reached our doorstep and hesitated. Instinctively, I stood on my toes and peered through the peephole. What I saw made my blood run cold. I covered my mouth to stifle a scream and staggered backward.

I saw it. I finally saw it.

The real reason the home I'd shared for ten years had turned against me.