Anthony opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no sound came out. His lips opened and closed, like a fish stranded on shore.
Evelyn crawled over too, clutching Steven's pants leg. "Steven, I am your mother. I am your biological mother." Her voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against glass. "You cannot do this to me. I carried you for ten months. You cannot send your own mother to prison."
Steven looked down at her. Not a ripple of emotion crossed his eyes. "If you truly are my mother, then you brought me into this world only to abandon me. Now that you see I have made something of myself, you come back expecting to play mother. A 'mother's love' like that, I, Steven, want no part of it."
Evelyn's hand froze in midair. Then it slowly dropped—like a leaf falling from a bra
