Chapter 3 - THE WEIGHT OF THE VEIL
I didn't sleep that night. I left my wedding dress on the floor, threw on a heavy wool coat, and walked out into the freezing downpour. The streets of Columbus were empty, reflecting the shattered yellow light of streetlamps.
Had he sought me out of love, or out of a desperate, twisted need for absolution? The first time we met in that church basement, when I was holding the box of books—did he know it was me?
I found a cheap motel near the highway, paying for a room with the crumpled bills I had in my coat pocket. I sat on the edge of the sagging mattress, staring at my reflection in the dark television screen. The scars on my face pulsed with phantom heat. I had married a blind man to hide from my physical reality, only to discover I was entirely blind to the truth of my own life.
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When the sun finally crested the horizon, painting the dingy motel room in pale gray light, my phone buzzed. It wasn't Callahan. It was an unknown number.
"Merritt Reed," a raspy, older voice said through the speaker. "Congratulations on your nuptials. I understand my son finally told you the family secret. You and I need to have a conversation about a certain ledger he possesses, before he ruins us both."
