A birth certificate.
Texas Department of State Health Services.
Liam Alexander Vulov.
Date of birth: March 12, 2016.
Mother: Sophia Grace Miller.
Father: David Marcus Vulov.
The room disappeared for a second.
David had a son.
A seven-year-old son.
I had never known.
“Sophia died three years ago,” Carter said quietly. “Single-car crash outside San Antonio. Officially accidental.”
“But Marcus killed her,” Dad said. “Once David was embedded in your life, Sophia became a liability.”
I stared at the birth certificate and felt another memory rise.
Two weeks earlier, David had brought a quiet little boy to our house.
“This is Liam,” he had said. “My buddy Tom’s son. He had an emergency showing. Asked if we could watch him for the evening.”
I had made macaroni and cheese.
