Felicia knew the moment the message arrived that peace was over.
She had just finished putting the children to bed when her phone vibrated softly on the kitchen counter. The house was finally quiet after a long day filled with noise, laughter, small arguments, and endless questions that only children seemed capable of asking. For a brief moment, she had allowed herself to relax, leaning against the counter with a cup of tea in her hand, thinking she had made it through the day without her past catching up to her again.
Then she saw his name.
Markus.
Her fingers froze around the cup. Her heartbeat began to pick up slowly, steadily, like a storm building in the distance. She stared at the message longer than necessary, as if ignoring it would somehow make it disappear.
I would like to s
