Then came the night everything changed. She woke to the creak of the back door and saw Vale carrying a gasoline can toward the shed, moving with a strange, determined pace. Light flickered across his face, hard and twisted. In that moment, she knew something terrible was about to happen, and so did Max.
She told Manny how the first flames flared behind the house, glowing orange against the trees and sky. The firelight flickered wildly, throwing shadows across the yard. She remembered standing frozen at the window, watching something she didn’t understand transform into something she instantly knew was dangerous.