Sophia appeared almost the moment I screamed her name.

The fear in her eyes when she saw me crumpled on the floor nearly undid me. She didn’t spare Cassie a glance, not even when Cassie started stammering, “It was a mistake, I’m sorry, it was a mistake…” over and over like a broken record.

Sophia slipped her arm under mine, helped me to my feet, and guided me straight out of the house. Within minutes she had me in the car and was driving like the devil was chasing us.

She hadn’t ...