The victim mask shattered, leaving behind something frantic and vicious.

“You ungrateful little bitch!” Lydia spat. “After everything I do for you! I keep a roof over your head! I feed you!”

“You use her!” Helena fired back.

“I needed her here!” Lydia screamed, pointing a trembling finger at me. “Do you know how hard it is? I have babies! I needed her to come back right now!”

“So you dragged a six-year-old out of bed and pinched him to put on a show?” Officer Davis asked, resting a hand on Mateo’s shoulder and gently pulling the trembling boy behind her legs.

“I had to!” Lydia yelled, losing her grip entirely in her desperation to control the narrative. “She’s the only one who can manage them! You see? You see?