I was awakened by a nightmare.

It was 4:30 a.m.

I had slept fantasizing about Carlos Maine.

In the dream, I was getting married to him—an intimate ceremony in Italy, surrounded by white lilies and the shimmer of candlelight. His mother, Ms. Pamela, had just given a speech and cheered a toast to us. Then, suddenly, there was a loud noise. Untraceable. Deliberate.

I searched the crowd, wondering where it had come from. Unknown to me, it was from behind. Matthew had surfaced from nowhere with a ...