Hudson's POV
The voice was high-pitched, clear.
It sliced through the tension like a sudden thunderclap during a silent standoff.
Hudson's head snapped around.
The little girl couldn't have been more than seven. She wore a bright yellow dress with tiny white flowers and had pigtails braided so perfectly they looked like they'd been done by a professional stylist.
She stared directly at Hudson, completely unfazed by the fact that every adult was now staring at her.
A woman rushed to her side and gently covered the girl's mouth.
"Don't say such things, Lily," the woman whispered frantically. "You don't know anything."
She forced a trembling smile toward Hudson. "She's just a child. She doesn't understand—"
"Let her speak," Hudson commanded, his voice leaving no r
