Act I The wage envelope slipped from Grace Miller’s hand just before her father kicked her into the mud. One moment, she was standing beside the wooden gate of the dairy farm, clutching…

Act I The paycheck was halfway out of Lily Harper’s hand when her father kicked her in the chest. She flew backward into a stack of low fruit crates, sending apples rolling across…

Act I The cash box was almost empty when Frank Carter grabbed it from his daughter’s hands. “Give it to me,” he snarled, yanking so hard that Emily Carter stumbled against the food…

Act I The first kick sent the young man crashing face-first onto the floor before anyone behind the counter could even react. His phone skidded across the polished tiles, its screen still glowing…

Act I The woman was still typing her reservation number when the man behind her decided she had wasted enough of his life. “Could you please be patient?” the receptionist asked, glancing toward…

Act I The pharmacist was waiting for one final detail when the man behind the customer decided that one minute was too much to ask. At the counter of an American pharmacy, a…

Act I The appointment paper slipped from her fingers just before the second kick landed. For several seconds, the hospital waiting room seemed to lose its breath. A phone skidded beneath a row…

Act I “I didn’t hear my number.” Mr. Miller had barely managed to explain himself when the man standing behind him in the ticket line drove a brutal kick into his back. The…

Act I “Just answer the question.” The woman in the expensive white coat snapped at the customer standing in front of her, her impatience sharp enough to turn heads across the crowded home…