By the time of Yvonne''s ''ident,'' the new apartment had already been renovated and was airing out.


    Later, she took the undercover assignment and never got the chance to move into the new home before she died. But Yvonne never imagined that her parents hadn''t moved either, that they had remained in the old house.


    "Yes. We never moved. We were afraid that if we did, Vonnie wouldn''t be able to find her way home," Monica said softly.


    Even though she knew her daughter was gone and would never return.


    As a mother, she continued to wait in the old house, guarding the home that was once filled with so many beautiful memories.


    The car pulled up in front of the Jones family''s old house.


    Bet helped thepletely inebriated Bruce inside and into his room.


    Monica took off her husband''s clothes and shoes and covered him with a nket.


    Bruce wasn''t a great drinker, but he was a quiet one. When he was drunk, he simplyy in bed and slept soundly, asionally letting out a snore.


    "Thank you both for everything tonight. It''s gettingte, so I won''t keep you," Monica said, walking Yvonne and Bet to the door. She couldn''t help but add, “Bet, you had a lot to drink too. Let Yvonne drive you home. And don''t forget to have something to sober up when you get back, to avoid a headache tomorrow."


    "I will," Bet nodded.


    After leaving the Jones'' house, Yvonne was still driving, with Bet in the passenger seat.


    The car was unusually quiet.


    Yvonne focused on the road ahead while Bet leaned his head back against the seat, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow.


    A faint smell of alcohol hung in the small space, not unpleasant, but carrying a strangely intoxicating quality.


    Yvonne''s car drove smoothly into the Cherry Apartmentplex and stopped in front of the building.


    After parking, she turned to look at the man beside her.


    He was awake now, his eyes open, quiet. He seemed both drunk and sober at the same time.


    His gaze was too deep; it felt impossible to see through him.


    "Can you get up on your own? Or should I help you?" Yvonne asked, unbuckling her seatbelt.


    Bet didn''t answer. Instead, he


    pressed a button on the door to


    lower the window. He opened the


    glovepartment and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.


    The lighter''s bluish-purple me flickered in the darkness, and white smoke curled up from his long fingers.


    He finished the cigarette in silence. His voice was raspy when he finally spoke, likely from the smoke.


    "Thest time I saw her, we were


    fighting. If I''d known that was then et


    I''d see her, I never wet


    have said these hurtful things


    His arm, holding the cigarette, rested on the open window frame. The glowing


    ember pulsed in the night wind, looking almost ghostly.


    Yvonne pressed her lips together, her memories suddenly pulling her back to the past.


    At the time, Colin was under police investigation, and the Gonzalez family was on the verge of copse But Yvonne''s undercover mission wastinover Colin''spany had intricate ties to Nexus Media and using her identity as Colin''s mistress, Yvonne sessfully infiltrated Nexus Media.


    George and Colin seemed to have struck some kind of deal, because George was


    surprisingly amodating and didn''t seem suspicious of her.


    That was when Bet had found her. With Colin out of the picture, he begged her


    toe back to him.


    He took out a ring, knelt on one knee, and proposed.