Abby skims through the report and points at the picture of the guy lying on the floor outside her house.

“He was one of his biggest clients,” Abby says letting out a breath. “His business shifted once Mom learned what he was doing. He pimped everyone he could. Shaun, Ava, Mom, the other women he lured to the house …”

Me, she mouths.

Anger spirals in the pit of my stomach as I learn of the hell she lived through. While at the same time I have flashes of my old life, the women crying and the men mounting them.

She sends an indifferent glance around the room. “Some days were worse than others. Mom didn’t care if they killed me or not.”

Not Abby, I repeat in my head. I knew it was bad but this … I’m breaking inside and holding back the tears. How could someone be so evil?

“What happened to your mother?”

“She fell sick and never recovered. Ava swore that Corbin killed her. Not that I care.” She’s cold and distant.

“This guy was a detective,” she continued, completely detached from herself. “He liked to play with Ava and his gun. He did crazy things with both of them, but swore he loved her and was faithful to her—only Ava.”

“Some nights, Corbin made me watch because he knew how much I hated to see them hurt her. She was so tiny and fragile. I was unable to save her.”

Her chin quivers. “I tried so hard to protect her. Sometimes I would bring her food from school knowing she hadn’t eaten for days.”

“And you?”

She shrugs.

“You weren’t eating either, were you?”

“I wanted to die. I was ready for it. We had a plan, Ava and me. She’d help me. We’d take the gun away from the detective, and she’d shoot me.”

“Abby,” I gasp.

“It all went wrong. She fought for the gun; Shaun was armed too. He tried to shoot the guy but instead, he hit his sister.” Abby touches her face. “Right here.”

“Shaun reacted right away and unloaded his gun on the detective.”

My heart thumps fast as I wait for her to continue.

“Where were you?”

“Close to her, frozen.” Her eyes open wide. “Angry because she didn’t deserve to die. It was my bullet. I had wronged her so many times, and I was so tired.”

Her words puncture my heart.

“Corbin ordered Shaun to take the computers and all the equipment to his car. To use the back door. In the meantime, he trashed the house.” She turns the pages, looking at the pictures.

“He stopped right in front of me and ran his gun down my face and my throat. ‘A thief came in and you hid in the closet. You heard Ava crying and then the gunshots. You didn’t see anything,’ he ordered.”

She laughs hysterically. “Kill me,” I begged him. “Finish me now!”

“He laughed at me and then said, ‘If you breathe one word about anything that’s happened in this house, I swear I’ll have Shaun teach you a lesson, and then, I’ll cut every inch of you.’”

I’m speechless, my arms are too heavy to reach out to her and hug her. She needs me, yet, I can’t seem to react.

“Shaun came back to the room wearing a ski mask. He broke the window and threw the body outside. They escaped from the basement. Once they left, I cried and held Ava. After a while, Corbin came back and right behind him, the police. I wished they had left a gun behind, so I could kill myself.”

“Abby,” I say once she’s finished.

“They broke my body and my mind. I still don’t know why he didn’t shoot me. When the police told me they’d put me into foster care I was confused, but relieved. I thought I was free. I’m not. He’s been keeping tabs on me.”

“Are you sure?”

“On graduation day, I saw him. Corbin. He’s watching me. Even now, I think he’s keeping an eye on me. I’m not sure how or why … or maybe he was right and I’m mixing fantasy with reality.”

What she’s telling me sounds scary and more like a horror movie than real life. I’m numbed as I process everything she’s told me.

She stares at the pictures of Ava’s dead body. I wipe the tears tumbling down her cheeks. We don’t say anything for a long time. I’m stunned silent, blinking up at her as I wish I knew what to say.

“What can I do for you?”

“I need a shower,” she says jumping off the bed and closing the bathroom door behind her.

The documents remain on the bed. I pick them up, yet I’m looking away from them. It’s like looking at a fresh crime scene. Carefully, I set them on top of her nightstand and go to my room. I send a message to the private investigator I hired to find the whereabouts of Corbin and any information he could send about his businesses.

I call Mom who picks up right away.

“Did you know?”

“What are you talking about, Weston?”

“Abby, did you know what really happened to her?”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” she claims innocently, but I know her.

“She was abused,” I grunt.

“She told you?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t sure,” she says. “She wasn’t my first foster child, Wes. I’ve seen and heard a lot of horror stories. A malnourished girl who wouldn’t talk. Her sister was raped and killed. According to the forensic report, she had been physically abused for a long time. Your dad and I just assumed that the same happened to Abby.”

“What do I do?”

“She needs love, understanding, and support from her family. Everything that we’ve been doing for the past six years. Nothing different, Wes.”

“Everything is different, Mom.” I hang up the phone.

She’s asking me to sit down and do nothing. All I want is to kill the mother fuckers who hurt her. I let go of all the tears I held in while she told me the story. I cry as if the ferocity of my tears might erase her pain and those horrid memories. As if the sheer force of my grief could undo the past.

How can I save her? Is it too late? I change my clothes and go out for a run, dissolving myself into the night, wanting to disappear because there’s nothing I can do to make this better. I can’t save the woman I love. Even if I find them, whatever I do wouldn’t give her back what she lost. Still, I think about the ways I could kill those sons of bitches. As the sun comes up, my legs start to give out, and I drop to my knees. The sounds echoing across the lake are of birds singing accompanied by my wailing carried in the damp air. Everything is static, frozen. Helpless, just like me.