Jalen’s POV

I knew Marian was planning something the moment she started humming in the kitchen this afternoon.

She never hummed; maybe I can’t remember the last time I was home with her all day to hear her hum once.

She only did that when she received her paycheck and had planned how to squander it on a spree.

I stood by the living room window, staring at the empty driveway, hands tucked into my pockets, trying to quiet the dread crawling up my spine.

“Jalen,” she called sweetly.

Too ...