Chapter 8
Liam wanted to run back to the balcony.
He wanted to shout Nora’s name until the entire building answered.
He wanted to rewind ten minutes and open the door the first time she touched the glass.
But regret does not reverse a lock.
He stood between the apartment and the balcony holding her ring, feeling the full weight of what he had done.
The ring had been warm on Nora’s hand that morning.
Now it burned cold in his palm.
Gwen reached toward him.
“Liam, listen to me.”
He stepped back.
That small movement hurt her pride more than shouting would have.
“You locked your wife outside,” Gwen said, changing tactics. “You need me right now.”
Liam’s voice was low.
“I needed you to tell me the truth.”
“I did.”
“Then why are you scared of the note?”
Gwen looked at the cream paper in the snow.
“I’m not.”
“Pick it up.”
She did not move.
The answer stood between them.
Liam looked toward the hallway.
The wet shoe prints began near the front entrance, crossed the living room, curved near the side table where his phone had been charging earlier, then continued toward the balcony.
His stomach tightened.
The missing money.
The phone.
The accusation.
The footprints.
Nora’s final words.
Ask your sister.
He still did not know the full explanation.
May you like
But he knew enough to stop believing Gwen.
Read the full story 👉 Liam could not yet explain the missing money, but the path of wet footprints made Gwen’s accusation start to collapse.
