Chloe.
My half-sister.
And she was clearly pregnant.
For several seconds, I simply stared.
Julian walked directly toward her.
Chloe put one hand against his face.
He wrapped an arm around her.
Then the two of them stood together, watching our SUV disappear deeper into the river.
Julian smiled.
Three years.
I had been married to that man for three years.
Every night, he told me how much he loved me.
Every morning, he reminded me not to work too hard managing Sterling Shipyard, the company my family had built over generations.
He had always seemed attentive.
Protective.
Patient.
Now I understood that I had never truly known him.
“Val…”
Mason’s weak voice came from behind me.
I twisted around.
The water was rising quickly in the rear of the vehicle.
“I’m sorry, Mason,” I said, my voice breaking. “I brought him into our lives.”
For one horrible moment, I thought we had run out of time.
Then something slammed against the back of my seat.
Once.
Twice.
I looked over my shoulder.
And everything I believed about my brother changed.
Mason was standing.
Not struggling.
