My new wife’s seven-year-old daughter burst into tears every time we were left alone together.

She nodded slowly, but her face became blank in that careful way children learn when they no longer trust happy news.

Three weeks later, Clara left on a business trip to Salt Lake City. She stood near the front door in a fitted black suit, her perfume sharp and expensive.

“Be good for Ethan,” she told Harper.

Her eyes held the little girl completely still.

“Remember what we talked about.”