Jasmine closed her eyes for a moment, forcing herself to hold steady.

Her own flesh and blood, sobbing like a little ball of misery right before her eyes—how could a mother’s heart not ache?

But this lesson today, she had to make sure Helen remembered it.

Stanley caught Helen as she threw herself into his arms. He didn’t try to comfort her, just silently wiped the tears streaming down her face.

The rest of the Hughes family wasn’t ...