Chapter 1 - The Threshold of Secrets
"What are y'all doing here?" Clara asked, her voice dropping into a sharp, defensive register as she stared through the narrow gap of the heavy wooden door.
Mara didn't step forward immediately. She adjusted the heavy plastic handle of the infant car seat resting against her hip, her breath pluming in the crisp autumn air.
"We needed a place, Grandma," Mara said, her tone flat, masking a tremor that threatened to break her composure.
"This isn't a motel, Mara, and you know it well," Clara snapped, her eyes darting past her granddaughter to the two children shivering on the concrete step.
"Leo has his white t-shirt covered in dirt, and Maya is missing a bead from her braids. What kind of mess did you drag to my doorstep?"
"I didn't drag anything," Mara whispered back, her chest tightening as the cold wind whipped her black puffer jacket against her olive pants.
"Everything fell apart, and you're the only person left who won't call the police on sight."
"The police?" Clara’s hand tightened on the brass doorknob until her knuckles turned stark white.
"What did you do, Mara? Tell me right now before I shut this door in your face."
Before Mara could answer, eight-year-old Leo tugged frantically at the hem of her jacket, his dark eyes wide with terror.
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"Mom, someone's walking up the driveway behind the car," Leo whispered, his voice trembling so hard his teeth chattered.
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