A knock at the door summons me from my sweeping. “Marisol, would you be a dear and get that for me?” Ryan’s voice floats down the stairs.

I saunter to the entryway, expecting another snooty guest of Ryan’s like the last woman he had over — boobs the size of watermelons and giant pearls to match. And her lipstick was something else entirely.

But when I open the door, I’m so taken aback I almost fall over. This isn’t the usual, it’s not even close. This girl is small and pale, with a few freckles dotting the bridge of her nose. Her eyes are wide and watery, a shade of spring green so light they look like glass. Her clothes are in tatters, hanging from her shoulders. She’s half naked, trembling, and soaking wet.

“Oh, dear,” I murmur, but she must hear it because she meets my eyes. It’s a defiant act, especially one coming from such a small girl. She’s trying her best to seem put together — the poor dear.

“Mr. Cagnerese will be with you in just a moment. Would you like to come inside?” I ask her, opening the door a little wider. The wind from the storm whips my hair around, and seems to push the tiny girl inside.

She nods, steely eyed. Her appearance makes her come across as weak, but the look in her eyes conveys nothing but.

I turn to go fetch Ryan, but he’s already coming down the stairs, his jaw dropped.

“Elaine,” he says incredulously, “why are you here?”

She steps forward to meet him at the foot of the stairs. “I think you know why, Ryan.”

If it had been anyone else calling him by his first name, I would have gently reminded them of his status. But this doesn’t seem like my place.

I back up, against the wall, pretending to be busy with dusting the entryway mantel.

“I thought it was negative,” Ryan hissed, spitting profanity.

“You knew it wasn’t!” Elaine yelled, scaring me quite a bit. “You knew I was pregnant and yet you still left! You left me and started your own life and that stupid business that got you rich! Now tell me, was it worth it?” She pulls something out of her pocket, and it takes me a moment to realize it’s a gun.

That moment costs me. She shoots Ryan. Once, twice. Bang, bang. Dead.