MasukMARY'S POV:"That's him, isn't it?" The woman with braids leaned closer, her breath warm against my ear. "That's who paid for this little vacation. Your own husband. What did you do to make him so mad, sweetheart?""Nothing," I said. "I didn't do anything.""Everyone does something.""He's the one—" I stopped myself. I wasn't going to tell them about Vesper. I wasn't going to tell them about the party, about the photos, about the way my husband had looked at another woman like she was the sun. That was mine. That pain was mine, and I wasn't going to share it with strangers who would only use it against me."He's the one what?" the tall one prompted."Nothing.""Doesn't sound like nothing."I pressed my back against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm done talking."They didn't like that.The circling stopped. The tall one stepped closer, close enough that I could see the individual hairs in her eyebrows, the small scar above her lip, the yellowing of her teeth when she sm
MARY'S POV:"Rights." She laughed again, and the others joined in. "You don't have rights in here, sweetheart. You have us. And we haven't decided what to do with you yet."My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my temples, in my throat, in the tips of my fingers. But I didn't move. I didn't look away. I had learned, years ago, that animals could smell fear. And these women, they were animals."I'm not here to cause trouble," I said. "I just want to sit quietly until my lawyer arrives.""Your lawyer." The woman with braids slid off the bench and walked toward me, her hips swaying in a way that felt performative, mocking. "Listen to her. She thinks she's getting out of here.""The cops put you in here with us for a reason," the tall one said. She was close enough now that I could smell her, cigarettes and sweat and something sour underneath. "Someone wanted you here. Someone paid for you to be here."I shook my head. "That's not—""You think this is an accident?" She gestured
MARY'S POV:The door slammed shut behind me, and the sound echoed off the concrete walls like a gunshot.I stood in the middle of the cell, my arms wrapped around myself, my eyes adjusting to the dim fluorescent light that flickered overhead. The floor was gray concrete, stained in places I didn't want to look at too closely. The walls were the same, gray, cold, covered in scratches and markings left by people who had been here before me. A metal bench bolted to the wall. A toilet without a seat with a sink that dripped.And the others.There were four of them. Women, but not like any women I had ever been in a room with. They wore matching orange jumpsuits, the jumpsuits they gave to people who had been convicted and not just detained. Their hair was matted, their eyes hard, their bodies covered in tattoos that snaked up their arms and necks like vines.Gang members. I had seen enough news reports to recognize the symbols, the postures, the way they looked at me like I was prey.This
MARY'S POV:The officers let me ride in the back with her, on the way to Marilyn's. Elowen didn't cry. She didn't speak. She just held my hand and stared out the window, and I watched her small face in the reflection and wondered if she would ever forgive me for this.Marilyn was waiting on the front porch when we arrived. She took Elowen's hand without a word, without a hug and even without asking any questions. Elowen looked back at me once, her eyes wide and scared, and then she disappeared inside the house.I got back in the police car.The drive to the station was silent.~~~~~~~The interrogation room was cold.Although it wasn't that freezing, but cold enough that I could see my breath when I exhaled. The walls were pale gray, the floor was linoleum, the table was metal and bolted to the ground. A single camera stared down from the corner of the ceiling, its red light blinking.I sat in the chair and waited.Officer Delgado came in first, followed by another officer I hadn't me
MARY'S POV:I tried again but nothing. Again and once again, nothing.His phone was unreachable, or he was ignoring me, or he had turned it off entirely. I didn't know which was worse.I stared at my phone, my thumb hovering over his name, and I felt something cold settle into my stomach. He wasn't coming. He wasn't answering. He was out there somewhere, maybe with her, while I was here trying to protect our daughter from the consequences of his choices.I put the phone down and walked back to the living room.Elowen was still on the couch, still wrapped in the blanket, still staring at the television. But her eyes were glassy, unfocused, and I knew she wasn't really watching."Mommy," she said, her voice small. "Who were those people?""Nobody, baby. Just some people who made a mistake.""Why did they shout at you?"I knelt down in front of her and took her hands. They were cold, even in mine."Because sometimes people believe things that aren't true," I said. "And sometimes they get
MARY'S POV:My hands were shaking on the steering wheel.Elowen was curled up in the passenger seat beside me, her small body pressed against the door, her purple backpack still strapped to her shoulders. She had stopped crying somewhere between the driveway and the corner, but her face was still wet, her eyes still wide, her breath still coming in short, hitching gasps that made my chest ache.I couldn't look at her. If I looked at her, I would fall apart. And I couldn't fall apart. Not yet. Not until we were safe.The car was still in the garage. The garage door was still open. I had made it to the driver's seat, had gotten Elowen inside, had my keys in the ignition—A knock on the window. It was loud and violent. A fist slamming against the glass so hard that the whole car shuddered.I turned my head slowly, my heart pounding somewhere in my throat, and I saw him. A man. Middle-aged, maybe, though it was hard to tell through the distortion of the window and the adrenaline flooding
HANNAH’S POV:I nodded slowly and found myself saying even though I didn’t seem to care about Elijah. “Flora, you can’t keep something like that from him. He deserves to know.”She smiled sadly. “Maybe. But for now, I want to keep it between us. Please.”There was something so fragile about her the
ELIJAH’S POV:“You are famous and an athlete. Let me shine, Uncle Jacob.” He said in a commanding tone and I bursted out in laughter and Jacob raised his hand in surrender. “Come on! Let’s go.” He dashed out and I loved him seeing energetic as most of the time, his eyes were glued to a book or he
HANNAH’S POV:“Good afternoon.” I greeted professionally and returned a small polite smile, walking over and taking the seat across from her.“You look beautiful,” she said, her voice calm, warm even and I couldn’t even pretend like I was taken aback by her compliment.I cleared my throat and place
HANNAH’S POV:I could feel Elijah’s presence behind me, tense and silent as soon as I reached the ground floor. He didn’t move, but I sensed his confusion, his guard slowly rising as Maya’s erratic energy filled the room.“Maya, let’s talk outside,” Jacob said firmly this time, his tone edged with







