The drive home from the Everly estate felt charged with unspoken questions, the kind that hung in the air like static before a storm. Nova had fallen asleep in her car seat, one tiny fist clutching Sage's finger, completely oblivious to the tension radiating from her four parents.
"That boy," Kai said finally, breaking the silence. "Ron. He saw something. The way he looked at Nova—that wasn't normal childhood curiosity."
"Nothing about that family is normal," Marcus agreed from the driver's seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel with more force than necessary. Through the bond, Samantha felt his scholarly mind already cataloging observations, building theories. "The careful word choices, the overly domestic presentation, that garden..."
