Cody shrank away from me, face etched in hurt.

“I’m going to ignore what you just said, because it comes from a place of pain. And for the record, I want to be a father, but unlike you, not all of us can get what we want when we want it.”

“You—a father?” I scoffed. “You couldn’t even be a loyal husband and brother.”

I had no idea if Cody had ever wanted children, or thought about having kids with Marin, but I struck a nerve...and instantly regretted it.

“You’re one to talk. It wasn’t all me that night. You are just as responsible for what happened as I am.”

“I think it’s time we called it a night.” Rather than letting it all pour out—accusations I knew I’d regret later, a defense that couldn’t hold water—I pointed to the porch steps leading out into the night. An owl screeched in agreement.

Cody slid out of his chair, pulling keys from his pocket. “You know—” He paused, one foot on the top step, and turned to look at me. The edges of his face hid in the gloom. “I could have gotten you if I wanted you. Just like I could have destroyed your entire life but chose not to. Remember who you’re talking down to.”

Then he was gone.

And shame took his place.

I ran inside, bolting the door shut, locking Cody and his words out where they couldn’t reach me. Heading upstairs, somewhere in the recesses of the house Oliver’s voice echoed, but I couldn’t hear him through the blood pounding in my eardrums. As I rounded the corner to my bedroom, I slowed at the doorway to Vera’s room, my eyes skimming the black innards.

No, not today, daughter.

Gripping the banister for support, I turned down the hallway, past the stained-glass power couple hidden in gray, into my bedroom, straight to my bedside table. Twisting the lamp on, the room burst into light. I pulled open the drawer, revealing a stack of books—mostly book club to-be-reads—and slid out a small wooden box tucked beneath them. Home to Vera’s journal. The vault to her secrets.

From the moment I found it Oliver warned that I should give the journal to the police, and I fervently agreed. In word, but not in deed. What he didn’t know was that her possible salvation was my damnation. Within the pages not only was I a monster, but I had committed a heinous crime that would put me behind bars. No one could ever know the truth about my past, about what I had done for the sake of love. Not even Oliver. Especially not Oliver. But Vera had somehow found out.