“He packed his things,” I said, looking at the bare wooden hangers dangling in the closet. “He took what he wanted and destroyed the rest.”

“He wanted to make sure you had nothing to come back to,” Thomas said, his voice flat.

Officer Miller took out a small notepad and began writing, his pen clicking in the quiet room.

“We need to document everything for the report, ma’am,” Miller said. “Do you have a list of valuable items that might be missing?”

“I don’t care about the valuables,” I said, my eyes burning. “I just need Ethan’s birth certificate and my medical papers.”

“Where did you keep them?” Thomas asked, kneeling beside me.

“In the small safe in the master closet,” I said. “The combination is Ethan’s due date.”

Thomas stood up and walked into the walk-in closet, stepping over a pile of my ruined sweaters.

A moment later, I heard him call out.

“Emma, the safe is open.”

I wheeled myself to the closet door.

The heavy black safe sat on the bottom shelf, its digital lock dark and its heavy steel door swinging loose.