Chapter 143

• The tension in the room was so thick it felt as though it could suffocate them all. Mrs. Rose stood frozen, her heart hammering against her chest as her eyes darted from Jessica to Kendrick and then to her children.
• Her worst nightmare was unraveling before her eyes, and there was no escape. Kendrick, too, was motionless, his face a mixture of disbelief and confusion.
• His eyes met Jessica’s, and a flood of memories rushed back—memories he had buried for years. He tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat.