I froze with my hand on the doorknob.
Nora’s voice kept going through the speaker.
“I have every text you sent me the night his wife d**d.”
“Do you want the girls to hear that too?”
Vanessa didn’t move.
Her face went blank.
Then it went white.
“You’re bluffing,” she said.
“Am I,” Nora said back.
Her voice was flat.
Not angry.
Just tired.
I pushed the door open.
I stepped into the sunroom.
Both girls turned and saw me.
“Daddy?” Grace said.
Her voice cracked in the middle.
Amelia ran to me first.
She grabbed my leg and held on.
Vanessa spun around.
“Marcus,” she said. “You’re supposed to be gone.”
“I know,” I said.
“I lied.”
“So did you.”
Nora stood by the window.
She didn’t look surprised to see me.
She looked relieved.
“Take the girls upstairs,” I told her.
“Now, please.”
Nora nodded.
She held out both hands.
Grace took one.
Amelia took the other.
They left without looking back at Vanessa.
I waited until I heard the stairs creak.
Then I turned to Vanessa.
“What did she mean,” I said.
“About texts.”
