—Ellie—  

     After covering the bite marks with concealer, I left my room with Mateo at my side. Mom was in the dining room, setting plates up for dinner. Usually the maids did it, but I got the impression she needed to keep busy. She’d lost weight. She had always been tall and thin, but now she was willowy. Mateo’s words flashed through my mind, that she’d fallen to her knees and begged Salvador to save me. My mother was a proud woman. I don’t think she’d ever ...