22

Twenty-two years earlier, Sloane counts six days since Lucian was jailed after turning eighteen. Consumed by guilt for breaking his trust and telling the truth about Ansel, Sloane listens as her parents debate risking their home to post Lucian’s steep bail. Determined to fix what she broke, Sloane decides to capture undeniable proof that Ansel is the real danger.

Armed with a camcorder and a tape recorder, Sloane stakes out the Rollins home, waiting for a chance to document abuse. Late at night, she witnesses Ansel raging at his wife, throwing a plate and later striking her. When Sloane spots Ansel drying a long serrated knife, she sprints home to call 911 and rouse her parents.

Racing back, Sloane finds Ansel pinning his wife to the table with the knife to her throat and blood on the floor. With no time to wait for help, she hurls a clay pot through the sliding glass door, shattering it and drawing Ansel’s attention. They lock eyes as Sloane channels her hatred and defiance into the confrontation.

Ansel lunges at Sloane as neighbors’ dogs bark and sirens close in. The scene ends on the precipice of violence—Sloane’s intervention forcing a police response and setting the stage for how the adults in their town, and Lucian and Sloane themselves, will bear the consequences.