She was isolating us for one.

She was removing, methodically, the single person my father had trusted to keep us safe.

Chapter 6 — I Can Let You Hear It

I woke on the vinyl of the hospital stretcher to the sound of the doctor ordering a police lockdown.

Within fifteen minutes there were officers in the corridor and a detective at my side — Detective Marisol Cruz, from the unit that handles crimes against children.

She sat down on a stool by my stretcher and opened a notepad.