Chapter 240

"A few years ago, Nora didn't actually die. The country faked her death to turn her into an undercover agent. She spent five whole years as a mercenary in Somalia. This time, during the international drug trafficking bust, she was the mole helping us from the inside. It wasn't until the mission wrapped up that the captain and the rest of the team found out Nora was the contact," Alice said, hands on the steering wheel, her tone laced with pride. "She got recognized when she came back too-earned a second-class honor." So that's what really happened. Celeste's fingers curled into her palms slightly, the emotions churning inside her hard to name. Alice dropped her home and left afterward. The house felt unusually quiet today. Celeste stood by the table, eyes on the cold dishes laid out for a dinner that never happened, wax from the candle stub dripped down past its base. She stayed there a moment, then dragged over the trash can and started clearing the table, one dish at a time. Rain sta