Ken stayed silent, clearly wrestling with something—or maybe just unwilling to admit it.

I decided to cut to the chase. “Ken, did you come into Alice’s life on purpose?”

His head snapped up, panic flashing in his eyes. That look alone was enough of an answer.

Thinking back to how I resembled Ada, and remembering how Ken had been close by after her passing—even following me into the hospital for Alice’s surgery—I couldn’t help but ask, “Were you hoping that ...