I want to be honest about what I felt, watching them approach, because it was not the hot, gleeful anticipation of revenge that the moment might seem to call for.

It was quieter than that, and steadier, and in a strange way almost sad.

I watched Ethan laugh at something his sister said.

I watched Patricia adjust her sunglasses, imperious even walking up a driveway.

I watched the three of them move toward that door in complete, comfortable, unthinking confidence, and I understood that I was watching the last few seconds of their belief that they controlled me — that in a moment, at that keypad, their whole understanding of the balance of power between us was going to end, and that they had absolutely no idea it was coming.

There is a particular stillness in watching someone walk toward a truth they cannot see.