VALENTINE
I couldn't reach her.
Aldric's threats still rang in my ears from the last call. The way his voice had climbed higher with each word, the way he had spat venom through the phone like it could poison me through the speaker alone. He was an unhinged man. But now, he seemed even more unhinged. And when Aldric lost control, it was a given that people died.
But Madeline wasn't answering.
My hand tightened around the phone. I had called three times already. Four. The number didn't matter. Each time it rang and rang until her voicemail kicked in. That same recorded message in her voice, calm and polite, telling me to leave my name and number. Like everything was normal. Like she wasn't radio silent in the middle of a nightmare that threatened to swallow our entire family whole.
I was grateful my wife wasn't here to see this.
