Not because anyone had ordered me to.
Not because a man had decided where I belonged.
I closed it because this was my home, my choice, and my life.
And somewhere in another part of the city stood a shelter built from the remains of an empire that had once survived by frightening people into surrendering what belonged to them.
Above its entrance was my daughter's message.
A simple sentence.
A truth Caroline Whitmore had never understood.
A truth Jake learned too late.
A truth my father and even Alex had nearly destroyed in their attempts to protect us.
Love does not take ownership.
Love leaves you the key.
