son

as faint, replaced by something... familiar. Home. I slowly opened my eyes. I was in my own bed,

gile peace. A roar, then the distinct sou

was in the living room, a hurricane of fury. He was smashing a vase, then a sculpture, h

hrough the house. "Find those men! I want them to pay! No one t

e internet. They're saying Addison was... attacked." She laid a hand on his arm, her eyes wide and innocent. "Do you th

laced with venom. He picked up another vase, a priceless antique, and hurled it against the fireplace. It shattered into a thou

sa, now me. All lumped together, dismissed, desecrated. I clutched my bandaged hand, my nails

Assumed I was "dirty," "stained," "provoked." My worth, my dignit

out of the house, my head held high, my heart a barren landscap

ker bearing Anissa's name. There was no headstone yet, no flowers, no mourners. Only me. I lit joss stic

ute, but he hadn't even shown up. He didn't care enough to eve

ashes. It felt impossibly light, yet heavy with the

r me. Flashing lights. Shouts. Reporters. They surged to

ue you were brutally

Dr. Frank? Did you p

husband left you

th? Was it really suicide, or

accusation and morbid curiosity. They did

ng Anissa's urn to my chest. "How dare

er, their questions g

ved in a scandal, Dr. Frank. Is

? Was she also involve

re permanently damaged n

them, but they were a wall of bodies, unrelenting. Someone grabbed my arm, ya

with a sickening thud. The lid popped open. Her ashes, once contai

es, ignoring the pain in my bandaged wrist, desperately trying to gather

ar abandonment of you?" a reporter shouted, his camera flashing, capturing every agonizi

was hoarse, tears streaming down my face as I t

old, hard ground. A blinding white light, then darkness.

eyes wide with what looked like genuine alarm. He was le

His voice w

d, so close, stopped in mid-air

oice cold and detached, to a waiting assistant

eding head, then back to the scattered ashes. "Sir, ar

wl. "She's dirty, Assistant. She's tainted

w. They were heavier than any physical pain, deeper than any wound. They solidi