Carl's young stepmother is a nurse, gardener, and abused caregiver who kills her dying husband with hidden morphine.
The tall, thin woman has hollow eyes, uncombed black hair, chipped red nail polish, nurse scrubs, and a pit bull tattoo on her neck honoring Chance. She is roughly Katia's age and far younger than Carl's father.
A wedding photograph shows her laughing, heavily pregnant, wearing a crown of purple alliums while marrying Carl's father in biker attire at a bar. Years later she is exhausted, smoking, crying, and caring for both the dying man and Asher.
She hides morphine vials in the large allium pot and retrieves them while pretending to garden. After the father demands a boost, she brings a syringe and IV bag, keeps the drug hidden, and injects a lethal dose.
She then holds Asher, assures him his father is resting, and prepares to send him to Mrs. Tomlinson's house before his birthday.
A thin exhausted young nurse with hollow eyes, black hair, chipped red nails, and a pit bull neck tattoo.
The stepmother is another woman driven to kill Carl's abusive father and the protector of Carl's unknown brother.