I GOT SERIOUSLY ILL OUT OF NOWHERE

my voice steady for the first time in days.

Her mouth opens, then closes. “Excuse me?”

“I said leave. Now. And don’t come back unless my son is with you.”

Her eyes narrow, and for the first time, I see her without the mask. The warmth fades. What’s left is cold calculation.

“Fine,” she says. “But don’t expect me to come running next time you’re lying continue reading …