Part 2: Before my husband passed away, he asked me to deliver a sealed letter to a woman I'd never met — after she read the first line, she looked at me and asked, "Did he tell you everything?"

My heart pounded.

"And Voss knew that?"

"Yes."

Zane swallowed.

"He said if I talked about the organization, he'd make sure everyone believed I caused the accident."

For several seconds, I couldn't move.

Then I whispered, "So you exchanged your daughter for his silence."

Zane shook his head desperately.

"No. Mara, I thought ours was dying. I believed I was saving Emily."

I looked at him.

"And afterward?"

His face crumpled.

"Afterward, I was ashamed."

I began crying.

"You should have told me."

"I know."

I stared at the man I'd loved for thirty-five years.

For the first time, I couldn't recognize him.

***

I spent that night at Rachel's house.

I needed distance.

Not because I'd stopped loving Zane.

Because I didn't know how to stand beside him without imagining the infant I'd never been allowed to hold.

Rachel made tea.

Then sat quietly while I cried.

Eventually, she asked, "Have you told Emily?"