She slipped off her shoes, pulled the offending letter from her back pocket, and settled back against Aldo’s pillows, his scent rising up around her. A protective shield between herself and what waited for her inside the envelope. She didn’t want to open this in her mother’s house. Not in that sweet sanctuary. Gloria wouldn’t invite Glenn and his evil into that space. Here, she was protected.

She slid her thumb under the tab and ripped the envelope open like the tearing off of a bandage. The handwriting, so terrifyingly familiar, leapt off the page with its intended message: hate.

You owe me and you will pay.

When I get home, you’ll never forget your place again.

She swallowed hard against the fear and bile that rose in her throat. “He can’t touch me,” she reminded herself, pressing her face into Aldo’s pillow. “He can’t ever touch me again.” But the words didn’t ring true. There were too many ways for the system to fail her. Too many ways for Gloria to fail herself.

“Get a grip,” Gloria muttered. She forced herself to sit up and look at the letter. She was here, and he was miles away, behind bars. Nothing was wrong in this moment besides the fact that he could still touch her with his poison. Venom through ink. She could feel him in the room with her.

“Read it again," she told herself.

Steeling her spine, she read the words again. Reminded herself where she was, where he was.

Sobriety hadn’t done Glenn any favors. He was still a warped, miserable monster. And he blamed her for it all. But he was wrong. She had already paid for her mistakes. It was his turn.

Glancing around the room, feeling Aldo’s presence, Gloria breathed deeply. She couldn’t put another man between her and Glenn. No. It wasn’t healthy. But maybe she could put the spirit, the essence of Aldo Moretta’s faith in her, in that craggy, terrifying void.

She swiped at the tears that had slipped unnoticed from the corners of her eyes and reached for her phone. “Hi, it’s Gloria Parker. Do you have a minute to talk today?”

* * *

Ty and Sophie Adler’s house was bursting at the seams with a barking dog and laughing toddler. Ty, in a t-shirt and gym shorts, met Gloria on the front stoop.

“I’m sorry,” Gloria apologized on automatic. “I didn’t realize it was your day off. We can talk later.” She made a move to back away, to stop inconveniencing him.

“If I didn’t have time to talk, I wouldn’t have told you to come on over,” Ty argued good-naturedly. “Now, come on inside so my wife and I have to pretend to be human beings in front of company.”