That was the moment my grief finished turning into something colder and more useful.

He had not just stopped loving me.

He had decided I was an obstacle to be legally removed.

And a woman who learns that about her husband stops, all at once and forever, being his wife in any way that matters.

Chapter 11 — The Necklace

At 10:17 that night, I put on a deep navy silk gown and fastened my grandmother’s diamond necklace at my throat — the one piece of Emmeline Kingswell I wore only when I needed her with me — and I stepped into the car.