The living room had grown quieter after the photo album was closed. The late afternoon sunlight had shifted across the floor since they first entered the house. The light now stretched farther into the room, brushing the edges of the coffee table and the lower legs of the sofa.
The album remained where Arianne had placed it. Closed. A single corner of a photograph still peeked between the pages. The barefoot toddler, running across the grass.
Gio set the document box he had carried from the study near the front door and checked the time on his tablet. "We should head back soon," he said. "The property manager will want copies of those registry files."
Arianne gave a small nod. "We'll send them this evening."
Aunt Estella rose slowly from the armchair near the window and straightened the sleeves of her cardigan. "It's getting late," she said. "Your father always said this house felt colder after sunset."
Arianne gave a quiet smile. "That sounds like something he would say."
