“You aren’t going back to that house, Chloe,” I said.

“Why?” she asked. “Is Dad keeping it?”

“No,” I said. “The house is gone.”

“What do you mean gone?”

“I’ll explain when you get here,” I said. “For now, I need you to be strong. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Put Dylan back on.”

There was a rustle of the phone.

“I’m here,” Dylan said.

“I’m sending the taxi reservation to your phone now,” I said. “And the hotel confirmation. Do you have your ID and your boarding passes?”

“Yes,” he said. “We have our backpacks and our carry-ons.”

“Good. Walk out the side door of the villa. Don’t go through the living room where your father is.”

“Okay,” he said. “Mom?”

“Yes, Dylan?”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I have never been better,” I said. “Now go. I love you.”

“Love you too,” he said, and hung up.

I sat in the dark car, my fingers flying across the screen of my phone.

First, I booked the two economy tickets from Kahului to Austin, with a short layover in Phoenix.