“Melanie isn’t here, Mother,” Leo said.

There was a sudden, sharp silence on the other end of the line.

I could hear the faint sound of wind chimes through the receiver, meaning she was standing on her back porch.

“Leo?” Josephine said, her voice dropping its frantic tone, instantly becoming cold and controlled. “What are you doing with that phone?”

“The police have it, Josephine,” Leo said. “And they have Melanie.”

Another long pause.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Josephine said. “Melanie is running errands for me.”

“She’s in a holding cell downstairs,” Leo said. “They found the blocked texts. They know what you did to Grace.”

I could hear her breathing on the line, slow and calculated.

“You are making a very big mistake, Leo,” Josephine said. “You have no idea what you are doing to this family.”

“You did this to the family,” Leo said. “You almost killed my son.”

“The boy was sick,” Josephine said. “Grace is unstable and couldn’t care for him. I was only protecting him.”

“We have the forensic report, Mother,” Leo said. “It’s over.”

“It is never over,” Josephine said.