He caught himself staring too long at Ethan, at the angles of his face. Was the jawline Claire’s father’s? Or someone else’s? Every resemblance felt slippery. Leo’s laughter once made him smile; now it gnawed at him. Whose son are you, really? Daniel hated himself for even thinking it.
Old memories flooded back, suddenly sinister. Claire laughing at text messages she never shared, lingering goodbyes at parties, vague explanations for business trips. Things he’d once dismissed now swelled into evidence. His mind replayed them endlessly, as though stitching together a puzzle whose image he dreaded seeing completed.