“Why don’t we go out, just the three of us?” Steve suggested. It was unusual; he usually just took Maddie. I was surprised but pleased. At the department store, he bought Maddie a stuffed cat, his face beaming as she hugged it tightly. Later, at a coffee shop, his demeanor shifted.

“Hey, Britney,” he began, his expression uncharacteristically serious. “Have you noticed anything… strange happening lately? With you or Maddie?”