At 5:17 a.m., Claire finally left my house. Before she walked out, she looked at Lauren. “You should find your own attorney.”

“Will Daniel come home?”

“That’s not my decision.”

“Does he hate me?”

Claire considered it. “I think hatred would be easier for him.” Then she closed the door.

Lauren stayed alone. She walked through the living room, gathering the pages she’d dropped, and put them back in the gray envelope. Then she went upstairs and took her clothes out of the suitcase.