THE doorbell’s chime rang through the quiet afternoon, a sound I knew too well... My heart gave a familiar flutter, a mix of dread and a pulsing heat that started low in my belly. I was already running late for lunch with Val, the restaurant reservation ticking down like a bomb.

"Oh, no,” I whispered to the empty air, but my feet moved anyway as if I was drawn by an invisible current.

I pulled open the heavy oak door. There he stood, Dom, my stepfather, filling the frame. His eyes, dark ...