My heart aches for him. For the fact that he has to sit here, face-to-face with a woman who stole people from him, and pretend like he’s not burning alive inside.

“But…” Theo tilts his head, studying her. “You knew he was stressed. You knew someone was looking into you. And you didn’t think to ask why?”

Her eyes widen slightly, and she shakes her head. “No! I—I didn’t know anything about that. Gabriel never said anything. He was probably just being paranoid.”

“Paranoid?” I echo, arching a brow. “About someone digging into your past? Your late husband’s autopsy?”

Aubrey flinches as if struck, her composure cracking further. “That’s not fair,” she says, her voice breaking. “Gabriel was under a lot of pressure. He was probably imagining things.”

I see red.

I think of Gabriel, of his kindness, of how much he meant to Mo. To Theo. To this town. I think of all the lives shattered because of her, of the people who will never come back.

“Was he?” Morgan presses, her tone sharp now, cutting straight through the illusion Aubrey’s trying to weave. “Or did he stumble onto a truth you didn’t want him to find?”

Aubrey’s breath catches, and for a moment, she looks genuinely shaken. Then, as if flipping a switch, her eyes brim with tears, and her lip trembles. “I can’t believe you’re accusing me of this,” she chokes out, her voice thick with emotion. “After everything I’ve been through. I loved Gabriel. He was my world. How can you sit there and twist this into something so ugly?”

She’s good. The trembling shoulders, the choked sobs, the broken, grieving widow act—it’s flawless. If I didn’t know better, I might have believed her.

But I do know better.

Because I see Theo’s fists clenching. I see the way Morgan’s nostrils flare, her face unreadable but her body taut like a coiled wire.

She presses a hand to her chest, her shoulders shaking as another sob escapes her. “He’s gone. Do you have any idea what that feels like? To lose the love of your life and then have the people you care about turn on you?” Her voice cracks, and she hides her face in her hands, her sobs muffled.

Theo, Morgan, and I exchange a glance, silently agreeing to stay the course.

“You’re right,” I say softly, my tone laced with sympathy. “It’s horrible. Losing someone like that…it’s unimaginable.” My throat tightens, my heart hammering against my ribs. Theo knows that pain. Mo knows that pain. And it’s because of you. As much as I want to confront her with those five words, we need to ease into it.