“Put her in her place today, Marvin. If she resists, hit her until she submits, and I’ll come by early tomorrow to see whether she’s learned her lesson.”

I stopped the playback, slipped both phones into my pocket, and looked down at his terrified face.

“Perfect,” I said. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll give your mother exactly the show she’s coming to see.”

Marvin went pale beneath the bruises. He couldn’t begin to imagine what would happen when his mother walked through that door.

PART 2

The doorbell rang at seven sharp.

Camryn had come an hour earlier than promised, hauling paper bags of breakfast burritos, hot broth, and plastic containers meant exclusively for her boy.