The room felt unnaturally still.
The house that had always greeted him with familiar little sounds—the refrigerator humming, Emma’s quiet footsteps, Ethan’s newborn cries—had turned into an empty shell. Newbornessentials
“Emma?” he called again.
His voice broke.
No answer came.
He stepped into the nursery carefully, the way a man might enter a crime scene before admitting the crime belonged to him.
The blood had dried deep into the carpet, forming a dark, ugly stain. It stretched from beside the rocking chair toward the bassinet, as if someone had tried to drag themselves across the floor.
Ryan’s throat tightened.
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