“What is this?”
I said nothing.
She walked closer.
Looked at the ring.
Then at me.
“Grant?”
My phone vibrated.
Claire:
I’m outside.
I stood.
Vanessa’s eyes followed me.
“What did you do?”
I walked toward the front door.
Not to block her.
Not to trap her.
I turned the deadbolt because it had been unlocked when she entered and because somebody was about to knock.
Click.
Vanessa froze.
Then came three knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Her face changed instantly.
Not confusion.
Terror.
Pure recognition.
I watched her stare at the door.
That reaction answered one question before I opened it.
She knew exactly who could be standing there.
“Grant.”
Her voice was suddenly small.
I looked at her.
“What?”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
Her eyes filled.
“Open that door.”
I had not heard genuine fear in Vanessa’s voice for months.
Not even when we argued.
“What are you afraid of?”
She shook her head.
“Please.”
Another knock.
Quieter.
Vanessa whispered:
“She shouldn’t be here.”
There it was.
“She?”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
I unlocked the deadbolt.
Opened the door.
Claire Voss stood on our porch.
Forty-two.
Dark wool coat.
Hair pulled back.
No dramatic makeup.
No fury.
She looked exhausted.
The kind of exhausted that starts behind the eyes.
Her gaze passed me.
Found Vanessa.
For several seconds, neither woman spoke.
Vanessa took one step backward.
Claire said:
“Hello, Vanessa.”
The words were calm.
That made them devastating.
Vanessa looked at me.
“You called her?”
“She contacted me after I reached out.”
“You had no right.”
Claire’s face changed.
“No right?”
Vanessa turned toward her.
“I didn’t mean—”
“No, finish.”
Claire stepped into the foyer after I moved aside.
“I would really like to hear the sentence.”
Vanessa looked between us.
“This is insane.”
I closed the door.
Not locked this time.
Claire removed her coat slowly.
“I agree.”
Vanessa grabbed her purse.
“I’m leaving.”
“You’re free to,” I said.
She looked at me.
That surprised her.
I pointed toward the kitchen table.
“But take the envelope first.”
“What is it?”
“Read it.”
Vanessa walked to the table.
Her hands shook as she opened the envelope.
She read the letter.
Once.
Then again.
She looked up.
“You retained a divorce attorney?”
“Yes.”