ag through the rapidly deepening snow, each step a battle. A few blocks from the h

ger, glanced up from his phone with suspicion. Andrea ignored him, making her way to a small seating

scalding her tongue. She sat on a hard plastic chair, wrapping her frozen

. A personal account she'd opened in college and kept secret, siphoning small amoun

eared on the sc

d to fight a multi-millionaire lawyer for her daught

ng FaceTime call. A picture of her five-ye

e quickly wiped the tears from her face with the back of her

answered, her voice

igtails. She was beaming. "Mommy! Look what I made!" She pr

r heart constricting in a painful knot. "It's

Lily said happily. "Where is

tered for a second. She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. "Y

love yo

sweetie. I'll see

phone slipped from her hand and clattered onto the table. She buried her f

. La

as standing over her, looking annoyed. "You can't jus

, mortified. "I'm sor

iliation was a fresh layer of pain on top of everything e

lowest price. The expensive hotels of Manhattan were out of the question. Her search led her to the fringes of the city, to

ery snow of Long Island was replaced by gray, slushy mounds piled on the curbs. Th

he motel's neon sign flickered erratically, half the letters dark. The bui

tched plexiglass. A large, unshaven man sat be

"I'd like a room for a week,

and disheveled, sweater. He quoted a price twe

snapped. The exhausted

a different price upon arrival is a deceptive trade practice under Title 20 of the New York City Admin

on municipal law. He grumbled something under his breath, snatched

o a plastic tag through the sl

l and grim. The wallpaper was peeling, the carpet was stained,

under the knob for good measure. A small sliver of

spring immediately dug into her back. Staring up at the w

break. Not while

painfully slow, but it worked. She navigated to the New York St

vorces. Precedents in custody battles invol

aced by a cold, clear focus. He had taken her home, her

ough the grimy window. She had a long fight ahead of her. And she