She knelt until she was eye level with the child.
—”Emily,” she said softly, “can you tell me what happened?”
The girl squeezed the rabbit against her chest so hard her knuckles went white.
Her eyes flicked toward the hallway, where Daniel was holding Thomas back.
Then she whispered the words that changed the whole room.
—”He said if I told… he was going to kill me.”
Thomas immediately raised his voice.
—”She doesn’t know what she’s saying. She’s confused. She has nightmares—”
—”Turn around,” Daniel snapped.
For the first time, Thomas’s calm slipped.
María kept her focus on Emily.
—”Did he hurt you tonight?”
Emily gave one tiny nod.
Then her gaze shifted past María’s shoulder.
There was a narrow closet at the end of the hall.
At first glance it looked ordinary.
Then María noticed the brass slide lock bolted onto the outside of the door.
Not inside.
Outside.
Her stomach dropped.
There were shallow scratch marks near the frame, low enough to have been made by small hands.
Emily saw where María was looking, and all the color drained from her face.
The stuffed rabbit slipped from her arms onto the carpet.
—”Please…” she whispered, backing away. “Don’t open that when he’s here…”
And when María reached for the lock, the little girl let out a scream so raw it silenced everyone in the house…
