It almost never does, the kind that holds a line.

Chapter 25 — Canceled

Monique called again less than a minute later.

I let it ring.

Zoe, who had come to the kitchen doorway in her pajamas, looked at the screen.

“She really wants Grandpa.” “She wants someone to undo the choice,” I said.

“Can Grandpa do that?” “No.” The phone stopped ringing.

I opened the banking app, because I needed one fact I could trust instead of a sister’s panic and a stranger’s promises.