“Alex!”
Sarah Lacy rushed forward, her movements frantic and uncoordinated as she wrapped her daughter tightly in her arms. Her fingers trembled as they ran over the child’s shoulders, her back, her arms, as if she were afraid that the slightest pressure might uncover an injury she had somehow missed.
“Are you hurt?” she asked urgently, her voice cracking despite her effort to stay composed. “Does anything hurt? Did she… did she bully you? Did she scare you?”
The words spilled out one after another, tangled with fear and guilt that had been building up inside her chest for hours.
Across from her, Rebecca Lacy froze.
She stared at Sarah Lacy in disbelief, her pupils shrinking slightly, as if her mind simply refused to process what her eyes were seeing.
Why was she here?
Hadn’t the pl
