On the granite kitchen island, right next to the brass fruit bowl, lay a thick navy blue folder with no label on the front.

Brooke’s car had been parked in the circular driveway when I’d pulled in twenty minutes before.

I undid the brass clip on the folder and opened the top page.

The heading on the white bond paper said nothing about real estate, commercial acquisitions or corporate mergers.

It was titled Draft Petition for Temporary Sole Conservatorship, naming Cole Vance as the petitioner and listing Maisie Vance as the minor child.

My hand stayed pressed flat on the counter.