POV: Olivia
The park should have been safe.
It was Saturday morning, the sun high, the grass still slick with dew. Mothers spread blankets under the trees, children shrieked from the swings, the air full of the kind of human noise that had become my shield. In a crowd like this, I told myself, no one could see us. No one could know.
The kids ran ahead, their laughter bright. Harvey and Hyden darted toward the climbing frame, racing each other like always.
“Bet I beat you, Hyden!”
“You never do!”
Daisy plopped under the slide, arranging her dolls like queens in a tiny court. Lily chased butterflies across the grass, squealing every time she nearly caught one.
For one fragile moment, I breathed. Just a mother. Just four children. Just another Saturday.
Then I saw it.
The SUV.
Same
