Cole's POVComing home after two days away should feel peaceful, like slipping back into something familiar, something steady and safe, a sanctuary from the chaos of the world beyond the driveway, but instead the moment the car rolls onto our property, that familiar tightness in my chest returns, heavier and sharper than it has been at any other time, as if the air itself is warning me that something is wrong.

The house looks the same as when we left it, quiet, orderly, untouched, but I know ...