Chapter 417

It was 3:30 in the morning. In the bedroom, Chloe Grace and the kids were fast asleep. William Turner hadn’t gone to bed. He’d moved to the guest room but ended up on the balcony, just sitting there, zoning out. The cigarette between his fingers had almost burned down to the filter, nearly singeing his hand. Only then did he flick the ash and stub it out. Off to the east, the dark clouds were starting to break, revealing a faint gray-white glow. Old memories started creeping back. Stuff from way back in college—he had liked someone back then. A girl named Olivia Hale. She’d been beautiful and pure, came from some remote mountain area. Meals never cost her more than five bucks, and she only had a few outfits that she rotated all year. She never showed up at group dinners. Most of the time, you'd find her in the library or working at the convenience store. William used to stop by the store a lot, buying random things just to have an excuse to pass them her way. Eventually, they got toget