Dorothy and Alex had been collecting supplies and organizing them in the basement.
The reason Dorothy had been staying out of sight wasn’t because she was being controlled.
She was trying to do something she had always done.
Help other people.
She simply wanted to prove that she could still contribute.
That she could still give.
That she wasn’t only someone who needed to receive help.
I looked at her.
“So all this time, you were trying to help other people?”
She nodded.
“I’ve spent my whole life helping people. I didn’t want old age to be the part where I stopped.”
I didn’t know what to say.
For weeks, I had been worried that someone was taking advantage of Dorothy.
I had watched Alex enter and leave her house.
I had seen him get his own key.
I had noticed her strange messages.
Every detail seemed suspicious.
