Theo was born on Walt’s blanket beside that empty road. For three terrifying seconds, my baby made no sound. Then he cried, and I broke down with him. The ambulance arrived minutes later, but my bleeding wouldn’t stop. Paramedics rushed us to the hospital, where Theo went for neonatal observation while doctors took me to intensive care.

While they fought to stabilize me, Walt returned to the ranch gate. A security camera mounted near the last mailbox had recorded everything: Marcus dragging me from the passenger seat, leaving me doubled over in the dust, and speeding away. Walt saved the footage and called Uncle Raymond, Judge Raymond Calloway, who was already driving through the night after hearing his voicemail. Raymond reached the hospital before midnight. I told him everything, including the accusation that I’d stolen Camille’s eighteen-thousand-dollar bracelet. That’s when he started making calls of his own.