“Come here, sweetheart,” she said, and Lily ran into her grandmother’s embrace and held on.

Marcus waited until his daughter was safely settled, distracted and content, drawing at the small desk in the guest room, before he walked into the kitchen and told Evelyn, quietly, “I need you to hear something.” He set his phone on the counter and played her the audio.

Evelyn listened without interrupting, and Marcus watched her face shift, slowly, from confusion, to a dawning and terrible concern, and finally into a cold, composed, dangerous stillness, the exact same look her daughter Hannah used to get when someone she loved was threatened.

“Who is Julian?” Evelyn asked, when it was done.