The Art of War Chapter 1: The First Strike The moment I met Monica Hartwell, I knew we were destined to be enemies. It wasn’t anything dramatic—no thrown drinks or […]
The Man in the Basement Chapter 1: The Perfect Fourth The smell of charcoal and lighter fluid mixed with the sweet perfume of honeysuckle climbing our back fence, creating the […]
The $800 Lesson Chapter 1: The Regular Table I’ve been waiting tables at Bellacorte for nearly a decade now, and let me tell you, you see everything in this business. […]
The Bouquet Conspiracy Chapter 1: The Announcement The kitchen smelled like vanilla and determination, a combination that should have been comforting but instead made me deeply suspicious. My mother, Eleanor […]
The Foundation of Betrayal Chapter 1: The Weight of Loss The October sky on the day we buried Dad was the color of old pewter, heavy and oppressive, threatening to […]
The Case of the Midnight Visitor Chapter 1: The Perfect Life Seven months pregnant and glowing—or at least that’s what everyone kept telling me. I’d catch myself in mirrors sometimes […]
The Uninvited Guest Chapter 1: The Perfect Plan The morning of Sara and Gabriele’s wedding dawned with the kind of perfect autumn weather that makes even the most practical people […]
The Four Corners of Forever Chapter 1: The Promise by the Lake The summer of 1983 felt infinite when you were fifteen, stretched out like taffy in the humid Indiana […]
The Guest Room Bill: A Wedding Day Surprise Chapter 1: The Perfect Storm Brewing My life before Alex was beautifully predictable. I woke up every morning at 5:30 AM to […]
Love’s Second Chapter: A Wedding Night Forty Years in the Making Chapter 1: The Echo of Empty Rooms The rain had been falling steadily for three days, turning the world […]
