Chapter 26

STEFAN’S POINT OF VIEW

The bourbon burned down my throat, a welcome fire against the cold emptiness spreading through my chest. I signaled the bartender for another. My fourth? Fifth? I’d lost count hours ago.

“You sure about that, buddy?” he asked, eyeing the empty glasses.

“Just pour the damn drink,” I growled,

The alcohol couldn’t drown the words that had haunted me all day: Martin Greene reading Camille’s will, her final message cutting through me like a blade.

*”To my former husband, Stefan Rodriguez, I return the engagement ring that belonged to his grandmother, with the hope that next time he gives