Martha used her free hand to pull the ringing phone right out of Valerie’s grip.

Valerie lunged forward to grab it back, but the construction foreman, Ray Alvarez, stepped between the two women and blocked Valerie’s path.

Martha swiped her thumb across the screen and brought the phone to her ear.

“Christopher?”

At first, there was only static humming over the speaker, followed by heavy, ragged breathing.

“Momma?” a weak voice whispered through the line.

Martha’s knees buckled slightly, but she held her ground.