Chapter 1

September 14, 2010: late evening

Storm clouds rolled over the Silver Diner parking lot, casting strange shadows over the silver Civic hatchback huddled by itself in one corner of the almost-empty lot. Broken letters—“v” and “n”—from the neon sign flashed uncertainly in the night.

In the front seat of the hatchback, a woman hunched in on herself. The lights from the damaged sign stuttered across the fresh bruises on her face. Maternal instincts made her automatically glance in the rearview mirror to check on her son. The boy was small for his age, no more than eight, and he sat slumped over, listlessly playing with his action figures. She knew she should be back there, holding and comforting him, but she still couldn’t shake the pain and horror she’d s...

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