Emily rose and hurried away. Minutes later, when she re-entered, her expression had morphed into something almost troubled.

“Mom—” Scarlett began, but her words strangled in the air. Behind Emily loomed the towering shadow of a man—Matthew.

Emily froze, caught like a rabbit in headlights, helpless and subdued. “The police say they won’t allow bail,” she muttered, avoiding her daughter’s eyes.

It wasn’t the police. It was ...