CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 2
Owen did not move.
The ocean wind tugged at his white resort shirt, but the rest of him had gone still, the way a man goes still when his life breaks quietly instead of loudly.
Madeline turned on Arthur first.
“You’re insane,” she said.
Arthur kept one hand on the ladder. Water ran down his face, dripping from his chin. “No, Madeline. I was insane when I kept protecting this family from the truth.”
Caleb shut his eyes.
That tiny movement told Owen more than any confession could have.
Owen turned slowly toward his brother.
“Tell me Dad’s wrong.”
Caleb’s mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Owen waited.
The waves knocked softly against the posts below. A seagull cried somewhere far over the marina. Behind them, two resort employees stood near the luggage carts, pretending not to listen and failing.
“Caleb,” Owen whispered. “Tell me.”
Caleb swallowed. His face had lost all color.
Madeline stepped between them too fast.
“Don’t look at me like that, Owen,” she snapped. “Your brother gave me more loyalty than you ever did.”
Owen flinched like she had struck him.
Arthur closed his eyes for half a second in the water.
Because that was the sentence he had been afraid would come.
May you like
Not because it was the worst thing Madeline could say.
Because it was the first honest thing she had said in years.
