I put on my coat and walked out the back door.

The cold air hit me like a physical blow.

The snow was coming down in thick, heavy flakes, covering the driveway.

A black SUV was parked at the curb, its lights off.

Miller led me down the icy stairs.

I looked back at the house one last time.

The kitchen door was open, the yellow light spilling out onto the white snow.

It was the house where I had hoped to build a family.

Now it was just another address on a police report.

I got into the back seat of the SUV.

Miller got in next to me.

The driver put the vehicle in gear, and we pulled away into the white storm.

We drove through the empty suburban streets.

The snowplows had not yet cleared the roads, and the tires slipped on the hidden ice.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked.

“A secure facility in the city,” Miller said.

“We will keep you there until the indictment is filed.”

“And Claire?”

“She is safe,” Miller said.