9

The brown envelope still lay on the table, but to Aaron, its contents felt like a time bomb that had just exploded, shattering what little peace he had left. Tom Smith. That name was not just a string of letters on paper. It was a dark shadow from the past that he had tried to bury deep inside. Tom was a pawn that had fallen in the chess game between himself and Henry, and now Aaron realized that he had married the widow of the man whose death was his responsibility. How could fate drag him right into my arms? Aaron thought, his trembling fingers touching the attached photo of Amelie. The photo showed a slightly younger Amelie, smiling faintly at the camera with eyes that had not yet been dimmed by grief. Her resemblance to Laura was beyond logic. Aaron stared at her jawline, the curve of her lips, and the look in her eyes that seemed to demand accountability. The guilt he had directed solely at Laura's death now branched out, piercing his heart in a new and more painful way. He slamme