My thumb swiped the screen instantly. “Clara? Are you safe?”

“Mom,” Clara’s voice was thin, trembling with a panic that made my chest tighten.

“Where are you, sweetheart?” I asked, keeping my voice as level as possible.

“I’m still at the motel outside of town,” she whispered. “But Mom, something is wrong.”

“Tell me,” I said, leaning closer to the shattered window to get better reception.

“I tried to pay for the room and get my prescription filled at the pharmacy next door,” she said.

“The card was declined.”

“I tried my other account, the one from before I met Julian, and that was declined too.”

I closed my eyes. “He froze them.”

“I called the bank,” Clara said, her voice cracking. “They said there’s a legal hold on all accounts associated with my name because of a pending dispute filed by Julian’s attorneys.”

“He’s trying to cut off your air supply, Clara,” I said. “He wants you to feel helpless.”

“I only have forty dollars in cash,” she said, sobbing quietly. “I can’t even buy my pain medication.”