A few hours after that, Gregory appeared at my workplace with an armful of flowers, and in front of my coworkers he arranged his face into something wounded and warm.

“Your bitter ex-husband is poisoning your mind, Alison,” he said, loud enough for the whole office to hear.

“All I ever wanted was to give our family a better home.” When I turned toward the security desk to have him removed, he leaned in close, and under his breath, in a voice only I could hear, he said: “You should be very careful about making Abigail a part of this.” He meant it to frighten me, and it did.

But my phone was in my hand, recording, and it caught every word.