By the time the candles were lit, Emma Carter had already decided that her eighth birthday was the best day of her life.

On Wednesday morning, Daniel insisted I get some fresh air. He stayed home with Emma while I drove down to the local supermarket to pick up groceries and fresh fruit.

I was in the bakery aisle when a hand clamped tightly around my forearm.

I spun around, my heart leaping into my throat.

Diane stood there, her eyes wild, her makeup smeared. She wasn't wearing her usual polished pearl earrings; her hair was disheveled, and her breath smelled faintly of peppermint and gin.

"You have to drop this, Sarah," Diane hissed, digging her nails through the sleeve of my cardigan. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to this family?"

I pulled my arm back with a hard yank. "Don't you ever touch me again."

"Your sister is in a holding cell with criminals!" Diane cried, her voice rising in pitch as shoppers down the aisle began to look over. "She has panic attacks! The papers are going to print her mugshot tomorrow! Richard’s clients are cancelling their contracts! You are destroying us!"

"Vanessa broke my daughter’s face, Mom," I said, my voice shaking with cold fury. "Emma had to have surgery yesterday morning to reset her nasal bone. She can barely breathe through her mouth. And you laughed when it happened."

"I was nervous!" Diane lied blatantly, her face twisting into a dramatic grimace. "It was a nervous reaction! Vanessa was stressed! You know how emotional she gets! Emma was being rude to her—"

"Emma was eight years old!" I shouted, no longer caring about the staring onlookers. "She said her father loved her, and your thirty-four-year-old daughter shattered her nose!"

"She's a bastard and you know it!" Diane spat, losing all control. "You’ve always been selfish! Bringing that little mistake around, rubbing your perfect military marriage in Vanessa’s face! Drop the charges, Sarah, or your father will cut you out of everything. You won't get a single dime when we die!"

"Keep your money," a low, thunderous voice sounded from behind us.

Diane gasped and spun around.

Daniel had followed me. He stood at the end of the aisle, holding his car keys. His eyes were flint.

"Ma'am," Daniel said, walking toward her with measured steps. "You are currently in violation of a temporary restraining order that covers Sarah and Emma. I am giving you ten seconds to leave this store before I have the store manager call dispatch."

Diane sneered at him. "You think you're so tough in that costume, Carter? You're nothing but a hired killer for the government! You have no power here!"

Daniel pulled out his phone, dialed three digits, and hit speakerphone.

*“County Dispatch, what is your emergency?”*