{"id":22863,"date":"2025-12-07T00:20:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T00:20:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=22863"},"modified":"2025-12-07T00:20:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T00:20:18","slug":"22863","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=22863","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Into the Lion\u2019s Den<\/span><\/h3>\n

Back in the hospital room, I looked at Clara\u2019s chart.\u00a0<\/span>Ulnar fracture. Multiple deep tissue contusions. Cracked seventh rib. Mild concussion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to your house,\u201d I told her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMom, no,\u201d she whimpered. \u201c<\/span>Dustin<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0will\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDustin,\u201d I said quietly, \u201cis about to learn what happens when you corner a wolf and mistake her for a sheep. I am going to get\u00a0<\/span>Laya<\/span><\/strong>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I took a cab to the address in Dorchester. From the outside, the two-story house looked normal. Inside, it was a war zone of filth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The smell hit me first\u2014stale beer, unwashed bodies, and rotting food. The living room was a disaster of pizza boxes and stained carpet. Two women were sprawled on a sagging sofa, watching a reality show.<\/span><\/p>\n

The older one, heavy-set with bad dye-job blonde hair, was\u00a0<\/span>Brenda<\/span><\/strong>, Dustin\u2019s mother. The younger one, thin and sharp-faced, was his sister,\u00a0<\/span>Karen<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, it\u2019s you,\u201d Brenda drawled, barely looking away from the TV. cigarette dangling from her lip. \u201cClara ain\u2019t here. She \u2018fell\u2019. Clumsy idiot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKitchen\u2019s a mess,\u201d Karen added. \u201cMake yourself useful if you\u2019re staying.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Into the Lion\u2019s Den Back in the hospital room, I looked at Clara\u2019s chart.\u00a0Ulnar fracture. Multiple deep tissue contusions. Cracked seventh rib. Mild concussion. \u201cI\u2019m going to your house,\u201d I told her. \u201cMom, no,\u201d she whimpered. \u201cDustin\u00a0will\u2026\u201d \u201cDustin,\u201d I said quietly, \u201cis about to learn what happens when you corner a wolf and mistake her…<\/p>\n

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