Becca recoils as if I've struck her, her face draining of color.
"That's a lie,” she stammers, her voice trembling, losing its sharp, arrogant edge. "He loves this baby! He's doing all of this for us!"
"He's doing this for himself. He's drowning in debt to a man named Vane. He lost his chemical trucks, his lab is burning down, and instead of protecting you and that baby, he dragged you into a derelict warehouse to watch him commit a capital offense. He's using you as a prop to make himself feel powerful because he's terrified. He’s a bully and a coward."
A raw, ugly tremor passes over Becca's face. The mask of cruelty crumbles completely, revealing a wild, unhinged desperation underneath.
"He promised me we were leaving after this. He said once he gets the money from Locke, we're star
