I opened the recording application again and placed the phone on the bathroom counter.
“Mom, I need to ask you a few more questions.”
She pulled the towel tighter around her chest.
“Will they listen to this?”
“Yes.”
“Will Julian go to prison?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Her chin trembled. “He’s still my son.”
The words struck harder than I expected.
Even after the bruises, the ropes, the stolen money, and the threats, a part of her was still trying to protect him.
I knelt in front of her.
