CHAPTER 2 — THE MAN WHO NEVER LEFT
The silence in the apartment felt heavier after Alexander arrived.
Sofia was still trembling on the couch, her wedding dress stained and torn, her breath shallow like every inhale hurt.
Alexander didn’t ask again.
He didn’t need to.
He already understood everything from one look.
A slow exhale left his chest as he stood up.
And when he finally spoke, his voice wasn’t loud.
It was controlled.
Too controlled.
“Where is he?”
I hesitated. “The husband?”
Alexander shook his head once.
“No.”
His eyes darkened.
“The family.”
That word changed the temperature of the room.
Before I could answer, his phone vibrated.
One message.
No name.
Just a location.
And a single sentence:
“We know she left.”
Alexander read it.
Then slowly set the phone down.
“I told myself I left that life behind,” he said quietly.
He looked at Sofia.
May you like
Then at me.
“But they just made the mistake of bringing it back.”
