Nate hadn’t said a word. Becca could see something behind his eyes. He was planning something. If he were on Mo’s side, he would’ve given up Becca’s gun. The unknown was unbearable. She could barely think with Mo’s nonstop rambling.

“You therapists are all alike. All that training and schooling and you don’t know a single thing about human nature. I’ve dedicated my entire life to helping children and families. The things I did for those kids, the time and effort I spent, really listening to them, making them feel cared for and comforted. No one else did that. Then they all looked down on me for it, acted like I was some kind of deviant. Next thing I know these nosy busybodies start spreading lies about me. I showed them how wrong they were. I’ve been living my truth. All those kids I’ve helped… they couldn’t do that. They didn’t have the ability. You must be truly special to help these kids. I worked miracles.”

Mo fluttered her hand as if gesturing to Nate. “Take Nathaniel. Do you know what he was like when I met him? Desperate. Lost and hopeless. But I saw his potential. His capacity for love, his desire for connection. That’s what I gave him. I did that.”

“So you were helping Nate? Helping all the other kids? That’s what you were doing?” Becca asked.

“Yes. Yes. How many times do I have to say that? I have a gift. The things I did, the things we did were crucial in their evolution.”

“What things?” Becca asked. “Hurting children? Killing them?”

“They were already damaged,” Mo insisted. “Whoring themselves out, using drugs, failing to connect with anyone. They did those things because they were betrayed by their families, cast out by people who claimed to love them. I know what that feels like. That’s why I rescued them, gave them a safe place to call home. I gave them hope. Some of them were redeemed. The others were damaged. They couldn’t be saved.”

“You mean, Ash and Leslie and Eli?” Becca asked.

Mo’s eyes flashed. “You expect me to believe that your life wasn’t easier without that girl? That she wasn’t weighing you down?”

“No. She wasn’t. She wasn’t.” Becca insisted. She could feel her temper growing and had to fight to maintain composure.