Eleanor believed that threatening to disown me would make me give up my place to protect a family photograph.

She believed my rank was just a uniform I could put aside whenever Derek needed the room.

I closed the velvet box with a soft snap that echoed in the quiet room.

I walked over to the dresser, picked up the lake house key I had brought upstairs after leaving the desk, and looked at the small number stamped on the tag.

The lake house was where we had spent every summer of my childhood, the place where Arthur taught Derek to sail while I sat on the dock holding the towels.