I would never have an answer.
The funeral passed like a blur. My daughters clung to me, crying until they had no tears left. Through it all, Aaron stayed close—handling the investigation, explaining the reports, and helping me keep everything together for my girls.
Slowly, he became the person I trusted most.
A month later, we placed a memorial marker where the accident had happened. After that, I avoided that road completely—until recently.
Everything changed the night Lucy woke me up.
She stood beside my bed, clutching her old teddy bear, trembling.
“Lucy? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I found something inside Mr. Buttons,” she said softly. “Dad hid this.”
She handed me a folded piece of paper.
At first, I thought she might be imagining things—she had been asking more questions about her father and brothers lately, and it was hard for me to talk about it.
