I reached over and answered it.

“Mom?” Thomas’s voice came through the receiver, sounding breathless and urgent.

“I’m driving to Fredericksburg right now. We need to talk before Rebecca finds you.”

I gripped the plastic receiver of the landline, my knuckles turning white.

“Thomas,” I said, my voice shaking slightly. “Where are you?”

“I’m just past Thornburg on I-95,” he said, his voice crackling with static. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes, Mom. Do not let Rebecca into the house.”

Caroline was watching me, her head tilted, her sharp mind already processing the panic in my voice.

She reached out with her left hand and tapped the speakerphone button on the base unit.

“Why shouldn’t we see her, Dad?” Caroline asked, her voice cool and steady.

The line went silent for a second, save for the hum of highway traffic in the background.

“Caroline,” Thomas said, his tone softening into something that sounded practiced. “Sweetheart, I didn’t know you were there. I want to explain everything, but it needs to be just us first.”

Caroline looked at me, then back at the phone.