CHAPTER 15: No One Owns the Balcony Now

A week later, Nora returned to Caldwell House in a gray coat and flat shoes, walking slowly but without help.
Maya met her at the drive to release the last of her personal belongings. The balcony had been roped off. The white rail looked harmless in daylight, which felt like another insult.
Nora stood on the lawn and looked up.
She did not see the fall first.
She saw the moment before it, when she had refused the pen. She saw her own hand pushing the papers back across the desk. She saw the woman she had been before Dorian tried to turn her into evidence.
August waited near the car, giving her space.
'Are you ready?' Maya asked.
Nora nodded.
She turned from the balcony toward the gate.
Behind her, the house stood tall, empty of applause and excuses.
It had watched everything.
Now it would testify.