Nobody came to this house unannounced except the man who had stopped taking my father’s calls in August.

The grandfather clock in the estate living room ticked loudly in the empty house.

The landline on the mahogany side table rang exactly three times before I picked it up.

“Alyssa,” Aaron said.

“We need to talk about optics.”

I sat on the edge of the floral sofa and tapped my wedding ring against the wooden table.

“You walked off the plane and caused a massive scene,” Aaron said.

“The strategic alignment of the executive team was compromised this morning.