Again.
And again.
Thirty blows.
I remembered counting because I needed something to hold on to.
Something more reliable than the thought that my own child could do this.
Kristen stood in the doorway.
She didn't intervene.
She watched until I fell against the sofa.
Then she told Trevor to stop because he was making too much noise.
Not because I was hurt.
Because the neighbors might hear.
The next day, I sold the house.
I'd thought that would be enough to make them understand I wasn't theirs to control.
Now I knew their plans had begun long before that afternoon.
***
Daniel arranged an emergency meeting with Cedarline's finance director, Patricia Wells.
Patricia had worked for me for sixteen years.
She arrived carrying a laptop and a stack of account statements.
Her expression was grave.
"Gloria, I've been reviewing the wire records."
I sat straighter.
"What did you find?"
"The money didn't leave in one transaction."
