At 3 A.M., My Brother Dragged Me Out of My Bedroom While Dad Laughed—He Had No Idea What the Smoke Detector Had Recorded

“Madison, tell them you are fine.”

I looked at the phone.

“I need an officer here.”

The operator asked whether I was safe enough to stay on the line.

“No.”

Aaron turned toward the hallway.

Douglas said, “Nobody needs to come to this house.”

The operator asked me to stay where I was and keep the line open.