Graham stared at the ground. The gun trembled in his hands, and then there was a little clicking sound, releasing the safety. “Lauren!” Andrea screamed. Ronnie whipped open the door and hurried to the porch. Andrea followed. But they didn’t run across the lawn. They stood just beyond the doorway, watching.

“Please, Lauren,” Andrea urged. “Just come with us. It’s going to be okay.”

But something was happening here. The police were probably going to search this place, if they hadn’t already. They would find out that North had died, if they didn’t already know. They probably did know, Lauren realized. If they knew Graham and Piper were together, of course they’d looked into the records about their child.

So what were these pictures, then? What was so damning and terrible Graham needed to break into a house and get rid of the evidence?

And then a crack opened in her brain. And here came the low boil, too, lurching up to a simmer in mere seconds. “Give me those,” Lauren roared, lurching forward. She grabbed a few of the papers, ripping one down the middle. A few bunched in her hands, and she took a big step back. “Hey!” Graham screamed, diving for her. In the split second before he landed on top of her, Lauren got a look at the images.

There were bruises on Piper’s face. Marks on her arm. Scratches on her back. Her eyes cast down, her expression deeply ashamed. Picture after picture, documenting everything.

Time sped up. Graham’s body was suddenly crushing her chest. One hand clamped on her neck, cutting off her airway. Lauren looked at him pleadingly, gasping for air that wouldn’t come. Above her, Andrea and Ronnie were screaming, pleading. Lauren just stared into her husband’s eyes . . . and there it was. Snap, a memory returned.

She saw herself standing in the kitchen. It was a summer night. That summer night. She was angry, screaming at Graham, holding the baby to her chest. And then she saw what came next, what her mind had previously wiped away. Graham had lunged at her. “Just stop,” he’d growled. “You’re acting insane. As usual.”

He pushed her against the sink and pressed his hand to her throat. Lauren let out a weak cry, still holding Matthew. Lauren clawed at Graham, trying to get him away from them, her fingers making contact with his face. Enraged and surprised, he shot out his fist. He’d intended it for Lauren’s cheek, but he misjudged. His hand connected with Matthew’s chubby thigh.

The baby was silent, and then his screams intensified. Graham froze in horror, and then guilt, and then deep regret. But after, a calm came over him. He lifted the baby from Lauren’s arms. And then she went blank.