Love, Loss, and Vengeful Hearts

The phone rang, an unrecognized number, pulling me away from a routine check-up on a golden retriever. My life, for a moment, felt normal, calm.

"Sarah… it' s me." Mary Johnson, my former mother-in-law. We hadn't spoken in three years, not since the funeral.

My heart pounded as her strained voice stumbled: "Tomorrow… it' s Ethan' s..." I cut her off, the name a raw wound.

Then she dropped the bomb: Mark, my ex-husband, wanted to visit the grave of the son he had killed. The calm shattered. I hung up. I blocked her number.