“You chose to throw that chance away over money.”

“I chose to keep my child safe,” I said.

“Stubborn daughters pay a steep price, Clara,” Margaret said.

“You’ll find out how cold this town gets when nobody in your family is willing to stand up for you.”

She climbed in and pulled the heavy door shut.

The engine caught on the second try, and she shifted into reverse, backing down the driveway toward Maple Lane.

As her front tires rolled off the concrete apron, a folded piece of paper that had been trapped under her passenger-side tire blew loose in the wind.