“I thought . . . the news said something different.” I didn’t think Mackenzie wanted to rehash the gory details sensationalized by the local news.

“That his neck was sliced open? Yeah, that apparently happened after he was already dead—from a drug-induced heart attack.”

“How would Aria even have access to a drug like that?”

“I don’t know, Robin. I don’t know. But look, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about everything with Ryan. Honestly, I can’t think or talk about Owen right now. I’m worn slap out. I need to shift gears to something else before I lose my mind.”

“Sure, honey. We can talk about whatever you want.” I patted her knee reassuringly.

“Thanks,” she muttered. “As you know, Owen was the one who filed the charges. I’m going to ask the cops to drop them. I never thought things would get so out of hand over that.”

“Hey, let’s not think about that right now.”

“No, it’s important. Owen filed the charges and he’s not here anymore, is he? So let’s just move on, right?”

I hadn’t been sleeping much, which gave me time for thinking instead. Thinking about my marriage, my friends, my choices. As much as I wanted Ryan’s life to move on, I knew what it felt like to lose your soul, to grieve over that missing piece of who you are when a man thinks he can steal your body as if it was his own. I had never gotten justice with Geoffrey, but I’d be damned if I’d let Aria become a victim like I was. Even if that meant putting my own son on the stand.

“Mac, I want Aria to make that decision, no one else. I want her to think about it and decide if it’s something she should do. She’s the one who was wronged here, not any of us. If Ryan did something to hurt her, he needs to take responsibility for it. He needs to make amends for it. I don’t know what really happened that night—only those two kids do. So we should let Aria decide. Are you okay with that?”

She watched me with a curiosity I had never seen in her before. Like she was trying to interpret something beyond my words. “Are you sure you want to put that risk on Ryan?”