ALEXANDER
I was still sitting across from my mother when the doorbell rang.
The sound cut through the quiet house, and both of us looked toward the hallway at the same time.
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
I glanced at my mother.
“Are you expecting someone?”
Helen shook her head.
“No.”
Her answer came quickly, but something about her expression made me look at her more closely.
She didn't seem merely surprised by the unexpected visitor.
She looked uncomfortable... Tense.
The change was subtle, but I had been watching her closely since I arrived, and I noticed immediately. Her shoulders had stiffened, and the relaxed expression she had worn a few moments earlier had disappeared.
She stared toward the door as though she already had an idea who might be standing on the
