“If she comes near my sons, I will destroy her.”
He ended the call.
I forced myself to move, to keep walking, to pretend I hadn’t heard.
But my hands were shaking.
And that night, when I tucked Luke into bed, he looked up at me and whispered, “Nia? Do people come back from heaven?”
My heart stopped.
“Why do you ask?”
His eyes were too serious for a six-year-old.
“Because I saw Mommy.”
The world tilted.
“What?”
“Outside. By the gate. She was standing there looking at the house.”
I forced myself to breathe.
“When, sweetheart?”
“Today. After school.”
I smoothed his hair back, kept my voice calm.
“Did you tell your dad?”
He shook his head.
“He gets sad when we talk about Mommy.”
I kissed his forehead and promised him everything was fine.
Then I walked downstairs and knocked on Adrian’s office door.
He looked up from his desk, exhausted.
“Luke saw someone outside,” I said carefully. “By the gate. He thinks it was his mother.”
Adrian’s face went white.
Then red.
Then cold.
“When?”
“This afternoon.”
He stood so fast his chair rolled backward.
“Get the boys inside. Lock the doors. Don’t let anyone in or out.”
