In a quiet suburb just outside Atlanta, Georgia, lived Dr. Simone Clarke a woman whose very presence felt like warmth. With years of experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist, Simone had helped countless couples find their way back to love. She wasn’t just a counselor. She was a safe space. Clients drove from counties away to sit across from her and pour out their hearts. She listened without judgment, helped without pushing, and healed without leaving a scar. Her office walls held stories of broken people made whole, marriages saved on the brink, and families learning how to breathe together again. But what no one saw, what Simone never dared to show was that while she was helping others find peace, her own home was a war zone. Marcus Clarke was her husband of nineteen years. He was the kind of man who knew how to turn a charm on like a switch, especially in front of others. He praised Simone at church. Posted about her success online. Smiled wide when they were in p...
Northeast England, 1920 Jack Tiller was born into the kind of life that made boys grow up early. His father left before Jack could speak in full sentences, and his mother worked long hours at Graveson’s Inn, a polished hotel that looked respectable from the outside but ran on exhaustion and invisible women like her. When she collapsed during a shift, nobody helped. When she died, nobody claimed responsibility. There were no reparations, only routine. The inn replaced her within a week. Jack was left with grief he didn’t know how to name, and a stepbrother, Todd, from another man, born into the same quiet desperation. The boys grew up together on the margins. They slept where they could, ate what they found, and survived off instincts sharpened by neglect. Jack had a talent for sketching faces, streets, moments, and Todd had a talent for...