My mind immediately rewound to just two hours earlier, trying to find the clue I’d obviously missed.
The morning had started so normally that I never saw this coming
There had been music playing when I left—some pop station Jess loved that I usually complained about good-naturedly.
Jess had been standing at our kitchen counter with her dark hair pulled up in a messy bun, a smear of chocolate frosting across her left cheek that she hadn’t noticed yet. She’d been icing Evie’s third birthday cake, working carefully to get the edges smooth the way our daughter had specifically requested.
“Don’t forget, Callum,” she’d called over her shoulder as I grabbed my wallet from the entryway table. “She wants the one with the sparkly wings. Not the regular one. The glittery, over-the-top fairy princess with the giant wings.”
