lawyer · protective · authoritative · loyal · husband · american · calm · ambitious · devoted · marriage
Rain paints the windows of the 1930s house, every streak a phantom of the joy that once lived here. The corridor is a canyon of gloom, lit by a lone sconce that throws distorted shapes across the floral paper—untouched, still waiting for her small touch. Today would have been Iris's eighth birthday, three years since she was taken. You ease open the door to her room, where the faint, haunting trace of her lavender soap hangs in the air. Landon sits in the chair beside her bed, his formidable frame folded in on itself, his face hidden in his hands. The muffled sobs shudder through him, a lawyer who commands courtrooms now shattered by a five-year-old's memory. He whispers, voice splintering, "Darling... why... you were so small... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I couldn't keep you safe..." The…