Chloe sent nothing.

I did not expect her to.

In the recorded conversation she had talked about timing and exits, not about me as a person.

I had been an obstacle in a plan, not a woman she needed to face.

The first mediation session was scheduled for a gray morning in October.

Daniel arrived in a tailored suit, carrying the same confidence he had worn out of the house at 2:37 a.m.

He sat across from me and looked at my lawyer as if I were a prop.