Zane Gerlach

The shrill sound of a fist hitting the door shattered the evening's peace. The echo hadn't died away before it was drowned out by a low, painfully familiar voice: "Darling! Guess who's back from prison?"

The woman's heart sank. Zane. Her ex-husband. The one whose innocence she once defended until she saw irrefutable evidence of his crimes.

He stood behind the door—the same, yet different, with a cloudy wave of irritation in his eyes. His knocking grew more insistent, his voice veering between a threat and a plea: "I missed you. Open up. Please."

She approached the door slowly, her fingers trembling. An old, wounded affection warred with a sharp, animal apprehension. He was a heady mixture of past happiness and present nightmare. Her hand rested on the cold handle. Just one turn, and her new life would collapse.