
The phone rang at exactly 2 a.m.—a sound so sudden and sharp it cut straight through the kind of deep sleep where dreams feel real. Half-asleep, I reached for it, my heartbeat slamming faster than made sense for a late-night call.
A woman’s voice burst through the speaker, furious and trembling with accusation.
“Stay away from Max and his family,” she hissed. “Or I’ll tell your husband everything.”
I lay there staring into the dark, pulse racing, the room suddenly feeling too tight, too quiet. Beside me, my husband shifted.
“Who was that?” he asked, groggy, still half in a dream.
He blinked, sat up, and took the phone from my hand. I studied his face — unguarded, tired — expecting confusion, shock, something. But when he answered, “Yeah,” in that steady, low voice… Continue reading…