Chapter 2 - THE BREAKING POINT
Footsteps thundered across the porch planks.
Elena didn't scream.
She moved with the raw, terrifying speed of a mother driven past sanity.
Her white blouse fluttered like a war banner as she threw her weight into Evelyn’s side.
The older woman stumbled back against the wooden railing, gasping as her heel caught on a potted fern.
Elena dropped to her knees.
Her fingers tore at the plastic latches of the crate, snapping them open with violent jerks.
"Chloe!"
She dragged the little girl out into the open air, pulling her against her collarbone.
Chloe clung to her mother's neck like a drowning sailor, her small ribs heaving with frantic, ragged sobs.
Elena stood up slowly, her body trembling with a rage so profound it turned her skin pale.
She turned to face the older woman.
"Put my daughter in a cage?!" Elena screamed.
Evelyn smoothed her maroon shirt with shaking, spiteful hands.
Behind them, the screen door swung open.
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Mark stepped out onto the porch, his blue shirt unbuttoned at the collar.
He stood frozen, his eyes darting from his sobbing daughter to his mother's flushed face.
