"What are you talking about? I'm not leaving New York! And you can't transfer Mom, she needs another surgery!"
Marino steps toward me, his full height and weight dwarfing my frame, and all I can do is look up with my heart in my throat. "I don't think you understand that you don't have a choice. Pack your and your mother's things. Boots! Drive her home and head over to regroup with Oscar. Wait for my call."
"Wait! I need to see Mom first!"
"You will see her later. Now pack your things or you will leave without anything."
I dart around my father, intending to dash to my mother's room when huge hands capture my arms. "Come on, little one. Let's go." I look up to see a man whose face and voice are now familiar to me. I recognize him from when I was a child. He's one of my father's men, but I recall him being relatively nice to me and my brother. Right now, though, I hate him.
