My stomach turned cold. The listing was on an estate liquidator’s site. Item: “Vintage writing desk, mahogany, minor water damage. Contains personal effects—buyer assumes all rights.” The photo showed her desk. The one she’d had since college. The one with the hidden compartment behind the middle drawer. The price: $40. The seller’s location: a storage unit auction. Her unit. The one I’d been paying for out of guilt for thirty-six months. They’d sold it without notifying me.

“Type your question. She will answer once. You will not get a second chance.”

“That’s the wrong question.”