“Are you threatening me, Martin?” I asked.

“I am advising you,” he said.

“I will talk to Lydia,” I said, and hung up the phone.

I leaned against the kitchen counter, my heart hammering against my ribs.

They were scared.

Julian’s high-priced lawyer was trying to make a deal because he knew they were losing.

I walked back to the living room and sat on the floor next to Harrison.

He handed me a red block, his small face bright with a smile.

“Thank you, sweetie,” I said, taking the block.

I stacked it on top of his blue one.

We stayed in the cottage for the rest of the weekend, watching the rain fall against the glass.

I didn’t leave the house.

I didn’t even go to the grocery store.

I kept the doors locked and the blinds drawn.

Every time a car drove down the quiet road, my heart stopped for a beat.

On Monday morning, my phone lit up with a call from Lydia.

I answered on the first ring.

“Elena,” she said, her voice sharp and energetic.

“The judge just signed the emergency order.”