ered was the bitter taste of pills

of ice: "Sarah, if there's anoth

tting bolt up

t slicked

in Port Grace, Alaska. Sunlight, pa

reminder of the rescue mission t

ng, unbearable agony of t

calendar on t

am Hayes, Sarah' s half-brother, was

the final, cru

alive

low, but under it, a cold,

hings would

ed as he reache

ugh contacts, hi

rah had used for some minor zoning issue for her c

ll con

ife is Sarah Miller. You helped h

t can I do for you?" Harrison'

" Ethan said, his own voi

other end. "I see. Are

sit

y office this after

be t

p. One st

memorized from a local health flye

Thorne's

tment with Dr. Thorne," E

an emerge

mportant. As so

ning tomorrow m

take

tiff. He moved with a caution born f

tively. No more letting it fester whi

uickly, his

bedroom door open

tly styled even this early. Her blue eyes

re up early.

im, a slight frown c

okay? You

e," he cu

ing the wall he'

d whisper. She must have overheard his cal

. "Your injury... I know it's been hard. B

ould have been a comfor

epped

rough, Sarah," he said, hi

d. You got through it, Sarah.

, his place to tinker with boat engines an

r voice reasonable, persuasive. "For my cam

a place for his shady cal

Ben, his eight

s earlier, insidious suggestions. "This boarding school in Anchorage... it's for his

ing his son hundr

arah not even looking back at Ethan, busy on her phone with a camp

al pain, dismissed. His

, influenced by Liam' s constant whispers that Ethan was seeking attent

t really. It had been the only door he c

old Sarah, his gaze unwavering.

s, quickly masked by hurt. The wound

her feel

er voice trembling slig

and let it all happen. She' d chosen her ambition, and

, out on the spit, the mountain

ning as she' d said the words, "In sickness and in h

er. God, he had b

as like ash

why anymore," he sa

eeded air. He needed to get out of that hous

e sat in Arthur Harri

ned patiently as Ethan stated his case, omitting the

tandard procedure in Alaska if it' s uncontested. She has grounds to conte

he wants," Ethan said. "I

messy. And

derst

ker. I'll draw up the papers. We c

on settled in Ethan. A f

n found himself in Dr.

ctional. The clinic served the

ck severely. Her eyes were tired but missed nothing. She had a repu

chart in her han

, medical, after the Albatross incident. States here you' re seeking con

lker. What' s the problem you' r

her cutting thro

. It' s... manageable now. But in my previous experience, it got much worse. Th

eyebrow at "last time

t that doesn't turn me into an addict. Strategies for the P

rogression of your condition," Dr.

Ethan sa

ent from his first life, a few

. He'd "helped" Sarah set up her camp

nder a pile of campaign posters. Liam had previously claimed to

It was a gift, for a potential job lead. Mapping rem

s trying his best. It' s a good opportunity for h

est. So dismissive

of being gaslit. He' d let it go. He' d wanted to be

the memory hit him with th

' s deception. It wa

t cared if they were lies, as long as Liam was placated,

d stone in his gut. She hadn't just been fooled; she had been

an told Dr. Thorne, his voice hard