Chapter 1 - The Burning House
I stared at the cream-colored envelope in my trembling hands.
Mr. Cross stood silently in the elegant restaurant lobby.
Tyler was still frozen near our anniversary table with his mistress.
I turned around and pushed through the heavy glass doors into the freezing night air.
A yellow taxi was idling at the curb.
I climbed into the back seat and locked the door immediately.
"Take me to Oakwood Drive," I told the driver.
As the cab sped away from the city center, I tore open the envelope.
A heavy silver key fell into my lap.
It looked exactly like a key to a high-security private bank vault.
I pulled out the single sheet of folded paper hidden inside.
The handwriting undeniably belonged to my husband.
But the words written on the page made my blood run entirely cold.
"Giana, if you are reading this, the anniversary dinner was a trap."
"I am already dead."
"Do not go back to our house under any circumstances."
I stopped breathing.
How could Tyler be dead when I had just seen him standing next to Karin?
My mind raced through a thousand terrifying possibilities.
Suddenly, the taxi driver slammed hard on the brakes.
We were three blocks away from my quiet suburban neighborhood.
The night sky was glowing with a bright, terrifying shade of orange.
I rolled down the window and smelled thick, acrid smoke filling the air.
Fire engines rushed past our taxi with their sirens screaming into the night.
I looked down the street and realized the burning building was my house.
Five years of my life, my memories, and my sanctuary were being reduced to ashes.
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And standing on the sidewalk, watching my home burn to the ground, was a woman in an ivory silk dress.
It was Karin.
