Nathaniel Cross tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He was never home before sunset. Never.
But the board meeting had been canceled.
And for days now, a strange, restless feeling had followed him — a quiet voice that wouldn’t let him focus.
Today, it drove him back early.
Three years.
Three years since his life shattered on a rain-slick highway outside Boston.
Three years since his wife, Elena Cross, lost control of her car and collided with a freight truck. The doctors said it was instant. No pain. No goodbye.
And the baby she was supposedly carrying didn’t survive either.
Since then, Nathaniel — the once-charismatic real estate tycoon — had turned into a man who lived in silence. His Connecticut estate felt more like a monument to grief than a home. Staff were dismissed for the smallest noise. Laughter was forbidden. The guesthouse had sat empty for years.
Until six months ago.
That’s when Lila Morgan moved in.
Quiet. Reserved. Honey-colored eyes that carried a sadness that mirrored his own. She signed the lease without hesitation.
Clause Seven: No children. No pets. No excessive noise. Immediate eviction if violated.