Prologue: Last Week

In the city of Salem, Oregon, a woman is standing outside embracing nature in her front yard. This woman is the mother of two daughters who are both out of town. Her name is Alessia Jones.

Alessia is standing just outside her house looking into the tree's luscious afro of leaves. As she threw her head back to soak up the beautiful trees, she saw her ex-husband watching her from across the street.

How could he have known she was here? A sudden wave of fear and panic washed over her. She rushed back to her front door thinking that she could take shelter inside her house. As she was running for her door, she could see him approaching out of the corner of her eye. She fumbled in her purse for her keys, but her hands were clumsy with fear. Just as her fingers grazed the familiar key fob, two sweaty hands grabbed her shoulders. The contact startled her making her drop her keys on the welcome mat. The hands on her shoulders ran down her arms to her forearms. "I will get my money back and make you pay one way or another," he growled, as he pinned her arms behind her back. This position left her defenseless and incapable of movement.

After a couple of seconds, he released her arms and disappeared as quickly as he arrived. She dropped to the ground, grabbed her keys, recollected herself, and swiftly went inside. Once inside she locked the doors and windows, found her phone, and made two calls.

One to each of her daughters.

...